Biochip technologies in cancer research

Development of high-throughput 'biochip' technologies has dramatically enha nced our ability to study biology and explore the molecular basis of diseas e. Biochips enable massively parallel molecular analyses to be carried out in a miniaturized format with a very high throughput. This review will high light applications of the various biochip technologies in cancer research, including analysis of 1) disease predisposition by using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarrays, 2) global gene expression patterns by cDNA microarrays, 3) concentrations, functional activities or interactions of pr oteins with proteomic biochips, and 4) cell types or tissues as well as cli nical endpoints associated with molecular targets by using tissue microarra ys, One can predict that individual cancer risks can, in the future, be est imated accurately by a microarray profile of multiple SNPs in critical gene s. Diagnostics of cancer will be facilitated by biochip readout of activity levels of thousands of genes and proteins. Biochip diagnostics coupled wit h informatics solutions will form the basis of individualized treatment dec isions for cancer patients.