Patent ID: 8221970

Claim:
A method for detecting markers for cancer in a subject comprising a) obtaining a sample comprising cells from the subject; b) contacting the sample with a combination of nucleic acid probes consisting essentially of: at least one first nucleic acid probe comprising a fragment of 10-500 consecutive bp from human papilloma virus 16 (SEQ ID NO: 1), which probe hybridizes to SEQ ID NO: 1 under low stringency conditions; at least one second nucleic acid probe comprising a fragment of 10-500 consecutive bp from human papilloma virus 18 (SEQ ID NO: 2), which probe hybridizes to SEQ ID NO: 2 under low stringency conditions; and at least one third nucleic acid probe comprising a fragment of 10-500 consecutive bp from human papilloma virus 51 (SEQ ID NO: 4), which probe hybridizes to SEQ ID NO: 4 under low stringency conditions, under conditions such that at least one nucleic acid probe chosen from the first, second or third nucleic acid probes hybridizes to a human papilloma virus (HPV) nucleic acid contained in the sample thereby forming at least one nucleic acid—HPV hybridization complex, and c) detecting said nucleic acid—HPV hybridization complex, wherein the combination of nucleic acid probes hybridizes to at least 14 high risk HPV types, and wherein hybridization of the at least one nucleic acid probe to the sample indicates the presence of cancer or the risk of developing cancer.