Investigating the Diagnostic Potential of Tear Proteins in Cancer - A Pilot Study

The Pilot Study is an observational study to investigate the diagnostic potential of tear proteins for Breast, Ovarian, Prostate, Melanoma, Pancreatic, and Colon cancer. In this pilot study, we use lacrimal gland fluid (tears) as a liquid biopsy source for investigating the protein repertoire and conducting biomarker discovery studies with a goal to develop new tear-based tests that can detect crucial cancer-related biomarkers in the pan-cancer types. Proteomic studies on tears have shown to express between 500-1500 proteins with \~35% overlap with serum proteome. The easy accessibility of tear fluid with minimal post-processing procedures and better access to lower molecular weight proteins make tears an ideal source to identify commonly associated cancer biomarkers. Additionally, the results from this study will aid in improving our understanding of the cancer types and commonalities that exist between them.