Patent ID: 6656684
Filing Date: 2003-12-02
Classification: C12Q

Abstract:
A diagnostic method for predicting the recurrence of a tumor or cancer in a human comprising:(a) contacting RNA from a human physiological sample suspected of being tumorigenic or cancerous with a Survivin-specific oligonucleotide comprising a first label, and a pro-apoptosis factor (PAF)-specific oligonucleotide comprising a second label under conditions effective to hybridize the RNA to the oligonucleotides so as to yield a first population of RNA labeled with the Survivin-specific oligonucleotide and a second population of RNA labeled with the PAF-specific oligonucleotide; (b) quantifying the first and second populations of labeled RNA to determine an amount of Survivin RNA and an amount of PAF RNA present in the sample; and (c) calculating the ratio of the amount of Survivin RNA and the amount of PAF RNA; wherein a Survivin:PAF ratio of more than about 1.5 is predictive that the tumor will recur.