Running Title: Proteomic Contributions to Personalized Cancer Care

Cancer impacts each patient and family differently. Our current understanding of the disease is primarily limited to clinical hallmarks of cancer, while many specific molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Genetic markers can be used to determine predisposition to tumor development, but molecularly targeted treatment strategies that improve patient prognosis are not widely available for most cancers. Individualized care plans, also described as personalized medicine, still must be developed by understanding and implementing basic science research into clinical treatment. Proteomics holds great promise in contributing to the prevention and cure of cancer, because it provides unique tools for discovery of biomarkers and therapeutic targets. As such, proteomics can help translate basic science discoveries into the clinical practice of personalized medicine. Here, we describe how biological mass spectrometry and proteom