Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Analyses of serum or plasma by MALDI-TOF MS provide new information mainly about small proteins and peptides with high molar abundance. The spectrum of observed proteins and peptides suggests value for applications such as assessment of cardiovascular risk, nutritional status, liver injury, kidney failure, and systemic immune responses rather than early detection of cancer. Extending analysis by MALDI-TOF MS to lower abundance components, such as markers for early-stage cancers, probably will require more extensive specimen fractionation before analysis.
Glen L. Hortin (Fri,) studied this question.