Protein glycosylation in gastric and colorectal cancers: Toward cancer detection and targeted therapeutics

Highlights • Alterations in glycosylation are hallmarks of malignant transformation in the gastric and colorectal tract. • Altered protein glycosylation favors malignant phenotypes and contributes to poor outcome. • Advances in glycomics, glycoproteomics and glycoengineering have broadened our understanding of the human glycoproteome. • A comprehensive glycomic and glycoproteomic characterization of human tumors will allow true precision medicine setting. • Cancer-associated glycans hold tremendous potential for non-invasive cancer detection and targeted therapeutics.