Description of Invention:
There are a number of specific antigens, such as alpha-fetal protein (AFP), nonmucinous ovarian cancer antigen (CA125), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), prostate-specific antigen (PSA), which are secreted into the serum of patients who have particular cancers. Kits for detecting these antigens are generally used as a means of diagnosing patients as having a specific cancer. However, the current methods suffer from a lack of sensitivity.
The instant technology provides a method for the early diagnosis of different cancers that does not suffer the drawbacks of the current assays. The inventors observed that auto-antibodies against the cancer marker antigens can be detected in the serum of patients with particular cancers. This new technology is designed to screen for the autoantibodies for a spectrum of secreted tumor antigens in a single assay (BBA, in press). This provides a highly sensitive assay for diagnosing cancer at an early stage, or when the tumor is of a very small size. Claims of the instant invention are drawn to methods and kits for performing this analysis as a means of diagnosing cancer.
Inventors:
Yoon S. Cho-Chung (NCI)
Patent Status:
DHHS Reference No. E-057-2006/0 --
U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/751,133 filed 16 Dec 2005
Licensing Status:
In addition to licensing, the technology is available for further development through collaborative research opportunities with the inventors.
Portfolios: Cancer
Cancer -Diagnostics-In Vitro-MAb Based Cancer -Diagnostics
For Additional Information Please Contact: David A. Lambertson Ph.D.
NIH Office of Technology Transfer
6011 Executive Blvd, Suite 325
Rockville, MD 20852-3804
Phone: (301)435-4632
Email: lambertsond@mail.nih.gov
Fax: (301) 402-0220
