Imaging mass spectrometry in biomarker discovery and validation

Biomarker discovery and validation involves the consideration of many issues and challenges in order to be effectively used for translation from bench to bedside. Imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) is a new technology to assess spatial molecular arrangements in tissue sections, going far beyond microscopy in providing hundreds of different molecular images from a single scan without the need of target-specific reagents. The possibility to correlate distribution maps of multiple analytes with histological and clinical features makes it an ideal tool to discover diagnostic and prognostic markers of diseases. Some recently published studies that show the usefulness and advantages of this technology in the field of cancer research are highlighted. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Imaging Mass Spectrometry: A User's Guide to a New Technique for Biological and Biomedical Research. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V.