Patent ID: 7563570

Claim:
A screening method for selecting an effective chemotherapy for the treatment of a patient suffering from non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), comprising the steps: a) isolating mRNA from a cancerous tumor tissue sample of the patient; b) determining the mRNA level of BRCA1 in the patient's sample; c) classifying the patient as either “low,” “normal,” or “high” by comparing the BRCA1 mRNA levels in the patient's sample with ranges of BRCA1 mRNA levels previously determined by measuring the BRCA1 mRNA levels of each within a collection of NSCLC tumor tissue biopsy samples previous to neoadjuvant chemotherapeutic treatment, and dividing the BRCA1 mRNA levels of all of the NSCLC tumor tissue biopsy samples into quartiles, wherein the patient is classified as “low” if the BRCA1 mRNA level in the patient's sample is within the range of BRCA1 mRNA levels of the bottom quartile, “high” if the BRCA1 mRNA level is within the range of BRCA1 mRNA levels of the top quartile, and “normal” is the BRCA1 mRNA level is within the range of BRCA1 mRNA levels of the middle two quartiles; d) selecting paclitaxel, docetaxel, paclitaxel/gemcitabine or docetaxel/gemcitabine for chemotherapeutic treatment of the patient if the patient is classified a “high” and selecting cisplatin or gemcitabine/cisplatin for chemotherapeutic treatment of the patient if the patient is classified as “low”.