Patent ID: 7504211

Claim:
A method of identifying breast cancer cells that are either resistant or sensitive to inhibition of cellular proliferation by a protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor comprising the steps of: (a) determining the expression of a gene expression product from the EphA2 gene in breast cancer cells, (b) normalizing the value of the expression of said gene expression product from the EphA2 gene to an internal control gene that is GADPH or other housekeeping gene; (c) comparing the normalized value for said gene expression product from the EphA2 gene to the average normalized expression value of said gene expression product from the EphA2 gene in a panel of control breast cancer cells, wherein said panel of control breast cancer cells consist of a plurality of breast cancer cells that are sensitive and a plurality of breast cancer cells that are resistant to said protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor; and (d) predicting whether said breast cancer cells are resistant or sensitive to inhibition of cellular proliferation by the protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor, wherein a normalized expression level of said gene expression product from the EphA2 gene in said breast cancer cells that is higher, relative to the average normalized expression level of said gene expression product from the EphA2 gene in said panel of control breast cancer cells, is indicative of sensitivity to the protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor, while a normalized expression level of said gene expression product from the EphA2 gene in said breast cancer cells that is lower, relative to the average normalized expression level of said gene expression product from the EphA2 gene in said panel of control breast cancer cells, is indicative of resistance to the protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and wherein said protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor is an inhibitor of Src, Fgr, Fyn, Yes, Blk, Hck, Lck, Lyn, BCR-ABL, PDGFR, c-Kit, and EphA2.