IL-8 as a biomarker for sunitinib resistance

Abstract

A method of determining whether a tumor will be non-responsive to sunitinib therapy including detecting whether IL-8 or MMP12 expression levels in the tumor are elevated as compared to a control, that is, a tumor having elevated IL-8 or MMP12 levels will be non-responsive to sunitinib. Also, a method for inhibiting the proliferation or causing the death of a sunitinib-resistant tumor cell by contacting the cell with an agent that inhibits IL-8 or MMP12 activity and with sunitinib, whereby proliferation of the tumor cell is inhibited or the tumor cell dies. Further, the invention includes compositions and kits that include an IL-8 inhibitor or an MMP12 inhibitor and sunitinib, and related methods of treatment.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.