Patent ID: 8568974

Claim:
A method for treating high risk B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) in a patient in need comprising: A). determining whether said patient is a candidate for traditional therapy for B-ALL comprising i) obtaining a biological sample from said patient; ii) analyzing said sample to determine the expression level of the gene products MUC4 (Mucin 4) and IGJ (immunoglobulin J) in said sample; and iii) comparing the observed gene expression levels for each of said gene products to a control gene expression level selected from the group consisting of: a) the gene expression level for the gene products observed in a control sample; and b) a predetermined gene expression level for the gene products; wherein an observed expression level that is higher than the control gene expression for both of said gene products is indicative of therapeutic failure with traditional leukemia therapy; and B). treating B-ALL in said patient with non-traditional leukemia therapy if the observed expression level is higher than control level.