Composition and Methods for Diagnosis and Treatment of Metastatic Disease
Description of Invention:
Liver cancer, particularly hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is a leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. In spite of recent progress in therapeutic strategies, prognosis of patients with advanced HCC remains very poor. Although routine screening of individuals at risk for developing HCC may extend the life of some patients, many are still diagnosed with advanced HCC and have little chance of survival. A small subset of HCC patients qualifies for surgical intervention, but the consequent improvement in long-term survival is only modest. The extremely poor prognosis of HCC is largely the result of a high rate of recurrence after surgery or of intra-hepatic metastases that develop through invasion of the portal vein or spread to other parts of the liver; extra-hepatic metastases are less common.
The present invention describes tools to determine a unique gene expression profile present in either liver parenchyma through needle biopsy or blood that can aid diagnosis or prognosis of HCC patients with or without metastatic potential. This method also provides a signature-derived polymerase chain reaction or serological screening method to identify drug candidates to treat metastatic or recurrent HCC.
Inventors:
Xin Wei Wang and Anuradha Budhu (NCI)
Patent Status:
DHHS Reference No. E-127-2005/0 --
U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/661,303 filed 09 Mar 2005
Licensing Status: This technology is no longer available for licensing.
Portfolios: Cancer
Cancer -Diagnostics-In Vivo Cancer -Therapeutics-Biological Response Modifiers Cancer -Diagnostics Cancer -Therapeutics
For Additional Information Please Contact: Whitney Hastings
NIH Office of Technology Transfer
6011 Executive Blvd, Suite 325
Rockville, MD 20852-3804
Phone: 301/451-7337
Email: hastingw@mail.nih.gov
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