Patent ID: 7776519

Claim:
A method for detecting invasiveness of cancer in a human subject, wherein said cancer is selected from the group consisting of t(9:22) leukemia, myeloid leukemia, T-cell leukemia or sarcoma, based on the aberrant expression of human Slug gene, wherein aberrant expression is over-expression of said gene or expression of said gene in cells that do not normally express said gene, which method comprises: 1) identifying a human subject having any of said cancers; 2) obtaining a test sample containing t(9:22) leukemia cells, myeloid leukemia cells, T-cell leukemia cells or sarcoma cells from said subject, 3) evaluating the expression of the human Slug gene in said cancerous cells contained in said test sample by determining the level of mRNA corresponding to the Slug gene (SLUG mRNA); and 4) comparing the expression of the human Slug gene in the cells of the test sample with the expression of the human Slug gene in the cells of a control sample; 5) evaluating on the basis of the outcome of step (4) whether said cancer in said human subject is invasive, given that aberrant expression of the human Slug gene in the cells of the test sample, when compared with expression of the human Slug gene in cells of the control sample, is indicative of invasiveness of said cancerous cells in said test sample.