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Nature 425, 905 (30 October 2003) | doi:10.1038/425905a

Clinical proteomics: Written in blood

Lance A. Liotta1, Mauro Ferrari2 & Emanuel Petricoin3

The blood contains a treasure trove of previously unstudied biomarkers that could reflect the ongoing physiologic state of all tissues. Every cell in the body leaves a record of its physiological state in the products it sheds to the blood, either as waste or as signals to neighbouring cells.