Patent ID: 11971402
Assignee: CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  C  Y | IPC C  G

Claim 1:
2. A method comprising:
selecting a subject having cancer;
obtaining, from the selected subject, a sample containing exosomes;
contacting the exosomes with one or more reagents suitable to determine expression levels, on said exosomes, of lung specific integrins comprising ITGα6, ITGβ1, and/or ITGβ4;
detecting (A) an increase in the expression levels of lung specific integrins on said exosomes relative to (i) the average expression levels of the selected lung specific integrins in a non-cancerous exosomal sample; (ii) the average expression levels of the selected lung specific integrins in a non-metastatic cancerous exosomal sample; or (iii) the expression levels of the selected lung specific integrins in an exosomal sample taken from the selected subject at an earlier time point; or (B) no change in the expression levels of the lung specific integrins on said exosomes relative to the average expression level of the selected lung specific integrins in a metastatic cancerous exosomal sample;
prognosing that the cancer is likely to metastasize to the lungs based on said detecting; and
administering an inhibitor of ITGα6, ITGβ1, and/or ITGβ4 to the selected subject where metastasis to the lung is prognosed to be likely.