MN/CA IX and cancer prognosis

A method which is prognostic for a gastric preneoplastic/neoplastic disease afflicting a subject vertebrate, wherein said disease is present in a gastric tissue in which 40% or more of the cells normally express MN/CA IX protein, but said gastric tissue loses or expresses MN/CA IX at a significantly reduced level upon carcinogenesis, said method comprising:

• (a) taking a gastric tissue sample comprising neoplastic cells from the invasion front of said preneoplastic/neoplastic disease;
• (b) determining whether MN/CA9 nucleic acid is absent or at a significantly reduced level in said gastric invasion front sample as compared to the level that said MN/CA9 nucleic acid is normally expressed in said gastric tissue, when said gastric tissue is unaffected by said disease;
• and
• (c) concluding that if said MN/CA9 nucleic acid is neither absent nor at such a significantly reduced level in said invasion front sample, that the subject vertebrate has a prognosis of shorter survival than if said MN/CA9 nucleic acid were absent or at such a significantly reduced level in said invasion front sample;
• wherein said MN/CA9 nucleic acid encodes an MN/CA IX protein or an MN/CA IX polypeptide, and is selected from the group consisting of:
• (1) SEQ ID NO:
• 1's coding region;
• (2) nucleotide sequences that hybridize under stringent hybridization conditions of 50% formamide at 42 degree C. to complement of SEQ ID NO:
• 1's coding region;
• and
• (3) nucleotide sequences that differ from SEQ ID NO:
• 1's coding region or from the nucleotide sequence in (2) in codon sequence due to the degeneracy of the genetic code;
• wherein said MN/CA IX protein or said MN/CA IX polypeptide is specifically bound by the M75 monoclonal antibody that is secreted from the hybridoma VU-M75, which was deposited at the American Type Culture Collection under ATCC No. HB 11128.