The clinical proteomics field has seen enormous growth in the past 20
years, with over 40000 scientific manuscripts published. At the same
time, actual clinical application of the reported findings is obviously
scarce. In this manuscript we discuss the key issues that may be
responsible for this apparent lack of success, which cannot be measured
by the numbers of publications, but by the impact on patient management
and treatment. We proceed with suggestions for potential solutions,
which include keeping a strict focus on potential patient benefit. We
hope this manuscript can help shaping the field, so it can in fact
deliver on its realistic promise, to bring significant improvement in
management and care to patients.