Patent ID: 7214485

Claim:
A method of monitoring for cancer in cells, comprising detecting the presence of gene-specific promoter methylation of DNA from cells, comprising the steps of: a) subjecting the DNA to bisulfite modification; b) expanding the number of copies of at least one specific gene by using a polymerase chain reaction with a first primer set to amplify a portion of the gene where the promoter methylation resides, thereby generating an amplification product; and c) using an aliquot of the amplification product generated by the first polymerase chain reaction in a second, methylation-specific, polymerase chain reaction with a second primer set at a temperature of annealing that exceeds the melting temperature of the second primer set to amplify a portion of the gene's CpG island where the promoter methylation resides, and to detect the presence of inactivation of at least one specific gene.