Status Quo of Glycosylation in Cancer: What Is, What Is Not and What Is to Be

Abstract

Glycobiology is gaining paramount importance for its influence on diseases as a consequence of a fundamental understanding of the underlying processes involved in them. Cancer is still posing threats to human health and welfare and therapies are perpetually being sought. Glycans are selectively attached to proteins and lipids during glycosylation, and these hold anchorage positions in many important biological processes involved in cancer through their altered expression or activity upon malignant transformation. Aberrant glycosylation is well established as a hallmark of cancer, linked to tumor development and metastasis. The analytical inputs and milestones achieved and the characterization and detection of glycosylation in cancer have been summarized in this review. The milestones achieved in cancer research through inputs from glycosylation have been highlighted. With almost 70% of biopharmaceuticals being glycoproteins and almost 80% of cancer biomarkers being glycan in origin, glycosylation has a lot of say in cancer prognosis and diagnosis. The future of glycosylation in cancer and the lacunae in the smooth channelization of state-of-the-art technologies for taking this research knowledge from bench top to bedside (actual clinical settings) is speculated upon. The incorporation of cross-disciplinary integrated approaches and nano-instrumentation sophistications are proposed for achieving scaling up.