Methods and compositions for diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer

• Main Authors: JOHN N VOURNAKIS, ARUN K. SETH, TAKIS S. PAPAS
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 20.10.1998
• Edition: 6
• Subjects: AGRICULTURE; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; BEER; BIOCHEMISTRY; CARE OF BIRDS, FISHES, INSECTS; CHEMISTRY; COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL ORENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES; CULTURE MEDIA; ENZYMOLOGY; FERMENTATION OR ENZYME-USING PROCESSES TO SYNTHESISE A DESIREDCHEMICAL COMPOUND OR COMPOSITION OR TO SEPARATE OPTICAL ISOMERSFROM A RACEMIC MIXTURE; FISHING; FORESTRY; HUMAN NECESSITIES; HUNTING; HYGIENE; MEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEICACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS; MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; METALLURGY; MICROBIOLOGY; MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; NEW BREEDS OF ANIMALS; ORGANIC CHEMISTRY; PEPTIDES; PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL, OR TOILET PURPOSES; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; REARING OR BREEDING ANIMALS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS ORMEDICINAL PREPARATIONS; SPIRITS; TRAPPING; VINEGAR; WINE

The present invention relates to a novel gene, Di12, that is differentially expressed as a 1.35 kb RNA in breast cancer tissues and cell lines, and in several normal tissues. The full length cDNA encodes a protein of 339 amino acids. Antibodies to the gene product were developed to investigate the expression of Di12 in breast cancer cell-lines and tumors. The Di12 protein was found in tissue sections of infiltrating ductal carcinomas (IDCs), but not in benign or normal breast specimens. Di12 wag also present in IDC-breast cancer patient sera, and its expression level increased markedly if IDC was accompanied by lymph node or distal metastases. As IDC constitutes ~70% of breast cancers seen clinically, the level of Di12 expression is useful for diseases diagnosis predicting disease progression and monitoring a therapeutic treatment.