Patent ID: 8703441

Claim:
A method for determining the likelihood that a cancerous breast cell or tissue is metastatic or non-metastatic comprising: a) obtaining a cell or tissue sample from a human subject diagnosed with or suspected of having breast cancer; b) contacting the sample with an antibody that binds a PCBP-1 antigen, wherein the antibody comprises a heavy chain variable domain comprising three complementarity determining regions (CDRs) comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 45, SEQ ID NO: 46, and SEQ ID NO: 47, and a light chain variable domain comprising three CDRs comprising the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NO: 48, SEQ ID NO: 49, and SEQ ID NO: 50; c) detecting the antibody; d) determining whether the antibody is primarily nuclear or cytoplasmic, wherein a determination that the antibody is primarily nuclear indicates that the breast cancer cell is non-metastatic, and a determination that the antibody is primarily cytoplasmic indicates that the breast cancer cell is likely metastatic.