Patent ID: 7666609

Claim:
A method for detecting melanoma cells in a human host, comprising the steps of: combining a sample of bodily fluid from the human host with a monoclonal antibody which binds specifically to an antigen, and detecting cells or cell membranes which bind to the monoclonal antibody as indicative of melanoma cells in the host, wherein, (a) said antigen is specifically bound by the antibody produced by the hybridoma deposited under ATCC Accession No. HB-12588, (b) said antigen is present on the membrane and in the cytoplasm of human melanoma cells, (c) said antigen is not present in normal, non-activated human melanocytic cells and non-melanocytic cells in an amount that is detectable by the antibody produced by the hybridoma deposited under ATCC Acession No. HB-12588, and (d) said monoclonal antibody competitively inhibits specific binding of the antibody produced by the hybridoma deposited under ATCC Acession No. HB-12588 to the antigen.