Patent ID: 7238492

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