Emerging Role of Protein Post-Translational Modification in the Potential Clinical Application of Cancer

Cancer, one of the largest public health problems in the world, greatly endangers human health. Every country in the world faces a significant burden due to cancer. Protein post-translational modification (PTM) plays a very important role in life. PTM makes the structure of proteins more complex and the functions more perfect. Common PTM processes include methylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, glycosylation and ubiquitination. In this paper, we introduce several common types of PTMs that were discovered in recent years in various cancer types, especially the early stages of cancer, and we explore the role of related molecules in cancer screening, diagnosis, disease surveillance and prognosis. We look forward to using PTM-relevant molecules as markers for the early diagnosis of cancer, after further in-depth research and large-scale clinical trials, to contribute to the early and accurate diagnosis of cancer, thereby improving the prognosis.