Patent ID: 7993852

Claim:
A method which is prognostic for a preneoplastic/neoplastic disease afflicting a subject vertebrate, wherein said disease is a primary tumor in a tissue, which tissue normally expresses MN/CA IX protein, but loses or has significantly reduced MN/CA IX expression upon carcinogenesis, said method comprising: (a) detecting MN/CA9 gene expression product in a preneoplastic/neoplastic sample comprising neoplastic cells taken from said vertebrate, (b) quantitating the level of said MN/CA9 gene expression product in said sample, (c) comparing the level of MN/CA9 gene expression product of step (b) to the average level of MN/CA9 gene expression product in comparable preneoplastic/neoplastic tissue samples comprising neoplastic cells taken from vertebrates of the same species as the subject vertebrate and afflicted by the same preneoplastic/neoplastic disease as the subject vertebrate, and (d) determining that said subject vertebrate has a poorer prognosis if the level of MN/CA9 gene expression product of step (b) is higher than the average level of MN/CA9 gene expression product in said comparable samples, than if said MN/CA9 gene expression product of step (b) were absent or at a significantly reduced level in said sample relative to said average level; wherein said MN/CA IX protein is encoded by a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of: (1) SEQ ID NO: 1's coding region; (2) nucleotide sequences that hybridize under stringent hybridization conditions of 50% formamide at 42 degree C. to complement of SEQ ID NO: 1's coding region; and (3) nucleotide sequences that differ from SEQ ID NO: 1's coding region or from the nucleotide sequences of (2) in codon sequence due to the degeneracy of the genetic code.