Detection of mammary tumor virus env gene-like sequences in human breast cancer
AssigneeMount Sinai School of Medicine of the City University of New York
InventorsJames Holland, Beatriz Pogo
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Abstract
The present invention relates to materials and methods for diagnosing breast cancer in humans. It is based, at least in part, on the discovery that a substantial percentage of human breast cancer tissue samples contained nucleic acid sequences corresponding to a portion of the mouse mammary tumor env gene. In contrast, such sequences were absent in almost all other human tissues tested.
Claims14
A composition comprising an oligonucleotide primer which may be used to detect the presence of a nucleic acid molecule which (i) hybridizes to the env gene of a mouse mammary tumor virus;
- (ii) is present in at least 38 percent of DNA samples prepared from breast cancer tissue of different human subjects;
- and (iii) hybridizes to less than 7 percent of DNA samples prepared from tissues other than breast cancer tissue from different human subjects wherein said oligonucleotide primer is capable of specifically hybridizing with said nucleic acid molecule.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.