Patent ID: 7575926
Filing Date: 2009-08-18
Classification: C12N,G01N

Abstract:
1. A method of identifying a compound which is able to target suppressed micrometastatic cancer cells in favor of non-suppressed micrometastatic cancer cells, comprising: providing a suppressed cancer cell culture comprising actively growing cancer cells which have a malignant phenotype, wherein the malignant phenotype of the cancer cells is suppressed by a malignant phenotype-suppressing matrix; providing a non-suppressed cancer cell culture comprising actively growing cancer cells which have the malignant phenotype, wherein the malignant phenotype of the cancer cells is expressed; treating each of the suppressed cancer cell culture and the non-suppressed cancer cell culture with a test compound and incubating said treated suppressed and non-suppressed cancer cell cultures; and measuring a first quantity related to the number or survival of cancer cells in the treated suppressed cancer cell culture and measuring a second quantity related to the number or survival of cancer cells in the treated non-suppressed cancer cell culture and wherein when the second quantity exceeds the first quantity the test compound is shown to target suppressed micrometastatic cancer cells in favor of non-suppressed micrometastatic cancer cells.