Urothelial differentiation of urothelial carcinoma: a bladder cancer stem cell model

Abstract

The present invention provides a method of treating cancer in a patient (e.g., a human patient) in need thereof, the method comprising administering a therapeutically effective regimen, the regimen comprising administering to a patient in need thereof a compound that targets 67 laminin receptor (67LR). In a particular embodiment, the compound that targets 67LR is an antibody or antibody fragment. In particular, the present invention provides a method of treating cancer comprising administering to a patient in need thereof an antibody that binds to 67LR. The present invention also provides a method of treating cancer comprising administering to a patient in need thereof an antibody conjugate, wherein the antibody conjugate comprises an antibody that binds to 67LR linked to a therapeutic agent, a protein toxin, a cytotoxic agent or other moiety. The present invention provides pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of cancer comprising an antibody that binds to 67LR in an amount effective to reduce cancer stem cells and/or cancer cells in a patient. The invention also provides for means to detect and monitor cancer stem cells based on their expression of 67LR.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.