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Our perception about carbohydrates have been significantly revalued over the last few decades: they have long been known as skeletons, energy sources, or components of nucleic acids. However another important physiological significance of carbohydrates has emerged recently. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples routinely prepared in hospitals have been used mainly for histological studies, but during my doctoral studies I have proved that the sugar structures obtained from FFPE samples are suitable for glycomic analysis. Since cancerous diseases can generally be associated with changes in cell surface carbohydrate profiles (glycome), monitoring of specific carbohydrate structural changes may lead to the discovery of new cancer biomarkers.
Lecture in Hungarian.