Patent ID: 9139880
Filing Date: 2015-09-22
Classification: A61K,A61P,C07K,C12Q,G01N

Abstract:
1. A method of diagnosing a cancer disease characterized by an increased expression of a tumor-associated antigen in cancerous tissue of the pancreas, prostate, or esophagus relative to healthy tissue of the same type, which method comprises detecting a nucleic acid which codes for the tumor-associated antigen in a biological sample comprising tissue isolated from the pancreas, prostate, or esophagus of a human patient having or suspected of having said cancer disease, and diagnosing the cancer disease based on the increased presence of the nucleic acid in the biological sample relative to healthy tissue of the same type; wherein the detecting comprises (i) contacting the biological sample with an agent that binds specifically to the nucleic acid, (ii) detecting the formation of a complex between the agent and the nucleic acid, and (iii) comparing the amount of the so-detected complex to the amount detected in healthy tissue of the same type under comparable detection conditions; said nucleic acid comprising a sequence selected from the group consisting of: SEQ ID NO: 13 and a sequence that is at least 90% identical to SEQ ID NO: 13, wherein the agent is a primer set consisting of a primer having the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:15 and a primer having the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:16.