Patent ID: 6242202
Filing Date: 2001-06-05
Classification: G01N,Y10S

Abstract:
Method of predicting the therapeutic response of a therapeutic drug directed towards a cancer in a human patient using a sample of blood cells taken from said patient, characterized in that the method comprises the steps ofbefore or shortly after the start of the treatment of said patient with said therapeutic drug taking said sample and culturing blood immunocompetent cells therefrom in a suitable medium;adding to a first culture of said sample a stimulator of proliferation alone and to a second culture of the same sample said stimulator of proliferation in combination with a immunomodulating substance of said immunocompetent cells, said immunomodulating substance being different from said stimulator of proliferation;assaying the proliferation of said cells in said cultures; andcomparing the proliferation obtained in said first and second cultures in order to demonstrate a correlation between the difference in proliferation of said cells with and without said immunomodulating substance and the therapeutic response of said therapeutic drug directed towards said cancer in human patients, said therapeutic response being a reduction of the tumor size of said cancer and said difference in proliferation of said cells being indicative of the therapeutic response of said therapeutic drug in said human patient.