Patent ID: 8323883

Claim:
A method or assessing the likelihood that a subject with Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor kinase inhibitor-resistant cancer will benefit from therapy that increases sensitivity to a Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor kinase inhibitor, the method comprising: (a) providing a cellular tissue sample of the subject; wherein the sample comprises non-small cell lung carcinoma cells, breast cancer cells, or pancreatic cancer cells; (b) determining whether the non-small cell lung carcinoma cells, breast cancer cells, or pancreatic cancer cells carry an oncogenic mutation in the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor that is associated with Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance, and (c) determining the level in the sample of at least one marker selected from the group consisting of IL-6 mRNA level and IL-6 protein level, wherein presence of the oncogenic mutation and an elevated level of at least one marker in the sample as relative to a control indicates that the subject is likely to benefit from the therapy that increases sensitivity to a Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor kinase inhibitor.