Cancer biomarker and methods of use thereof
AssigneeRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
InventorsRuth Steward, Dale Schaar, Svetlana Minakhina, Dan Medina
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Abstract
Certain embodiments of the present invention provide methods for identifying subjects that have, or are at risk for developing, cancer. Certain embodiments of the present invention provide methods for determining the effectiveness of cancer treatments.
Claims20
A method for identifying a subject that has cancer, or is at an elevated risk for developing cancer, comprising:
- a) quantifying the level of Programmed Cell Death 2 (PDCD2) protein or RNA in a biological sample from the subject and comparing the level to a control sample;
- and
- b) determining that the subject has cancer, or is at an elevated risk for developing cancer, based on the level of PDCD2 protein or RNA in the sample, wherein an increased level of PDCD2 protein or RNA in the sample as compared to the control indicates that the subject has cancer, or is at an elevated risk for developing cancer.
A method for determining the effectiveness of a cancer treatment in a subject, comprising:
- a) quantifying the level of Programmed Cell Death 2 (PDCD2) protein or RNA in a first biological sample from the subject before the cancer treatment;
- b) quantifying the level of Programmed Cell Death 2 (PDCD2) protein or RNA in a second biological sample from the subject after the cancer treatment;
- c) comparing the level in the first sample to the level in the second sample;
- and
- d) determining that the cancer treatment is effective based on the level of PDCD2 protein or RNA in the second sample compared to the first sample, wherein a decrease in the level of PDCD2 protein or RNA in the second sample as compared to the first sample indicates that the cancer treatment is effective to reduce the cancer.
A method for identifying a subject that has a relapse of cancer or refractory disease, or is at an elevated risk for a relapse of cancer or refractory disease, comprising:
- a) quantifying the level of Programmed Cell Death 2 (PDCD2) protein or RNA in a first biological sample from the subject before a cancer treatment;
- b) quantifying the level of Programmed Cell Death 2 (PDCD2) protein or RNA in a second biological sample from the subject after a cancer treatment;
- and
- c) calculating the ratio of the level in the first sample to the level in the second sample, wherein a ratio less than about 2 indicates the subject has relapsed, or is at an elevated risk for a relapse of cancer or refractory disease.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.