Patent ID: 8354228

Claim:
A method of diagnosing thyroid cancer or prostate cancer in a subject in need thereof, the method comprising: (a) detecting in a thyroid or prostate tissue sample of the subject, respectively an expression level of a Sef polynucleotide which is hybridizable to SEQ ID NO:31, wherein a decrease in said expression level of said Sef polynucleotide in said tissue sample as compared to said expression level of said Sef polynucleotide in a corresponding unaffected or normal tissue is indicative of the presence of the thyroid or prostate cancer, respectively; and (b) determining a malignancy of said cancer based on said decrease in said expression level, wherein a reduced expression of said Sef polynucleotide in said thyroid or prostate tissue sample correlates with an increase in said malignancy of the thyroid or prostate cancer, respectively, and (c) classifying patients with reduced expression of said Sef polynucleotide in said prostate tissue or in said thyroid tissue as having prostate cancer or thyroid cancer, respectively, thereby diagnosing the thyroid cancer or prostate cancer, respectively, in the subject in need thereof.