Patent ID: 6610484
Filing Date: 2003-08-26
Classification: A61B,A61K,A61M,C12Q,G01N

Abstract:
A method for identifying a patient having breast cancer or breast precancer, said method comprising:placing a ductal access tool comprising a single lumen in a breast duct of a patient, wherein the single lumen has an inner diameter large enough to retrieve clusters of greater than 10 cells; infusing a fluid into the duct through the single lumen; retrieving a ductal fluid sample from the accessed duct through the single lumen, wherein the ductal fluid sample comprises ductal epithelial cells and is free of ductal fluid from any other duct of the breast; and examining the ductal fluid sample to determine the presence of a cancer or precancer marker comprising a protein, a polypeptide, a nucleic acid, a polynucleotide, an mRNA, a small organic molecule, a lipid, a fat, a glycoprotein, a glycopeptide, a carbohydrate, an oligosaccharide, a chromosomal abnormality, a whole cell having a marker molecule, a particle, a secreted molecule, an intracellular molecule, and a complex of a plurality of molecules.