Recent Patents in Glycan-Based Cancer Biomarkers and Discovery Technologies

Glycosylation is one of the most common post-translational modifications on proteins and lipids. The functions of glycosylation include immune regulation and pathogen invasion, signaling, protein structure regulation, protein quality control and degradation, and cell adhesion and migration. Due to these diverse functions, detecting glycosylation has recently become a target of biomedical research. Many recent advances have been made in glycosylation analysis. Microarray and mass spectrometry improvements have made whole glycoproteome analysis possible and the identification of abnormal glycosylation patterns associated with various diseases. Cancer associated glycan structures, glycosylation changes, and glycoforms of proteins are becoming increasingly used for biomarker development and treatment options. This article discusses recent patents involving technology and methodology advances in glycosylation analysis along with cancer-specific glycosylation-based biomarkers. Owing to the recent development of the field, pending patents detailing glycosylation analysis methods and glycan-based biomarkers are included in this review.