Patent ID: 7833734

Claim:
A diagnostic/prognostic method for a preneoplastic/neoplastic disease associated with abnormal MN/CA IX expression, comprising determining whether MN/CA IX is activated in a vertebrate sample, comprising: a) contacting said sample with a potent specific inhibitor of activated MN/CA IX, and b) detecting or detecting and quantifying binding of said potent specific inhibitor of activated MN/CA IX in said sample; and c) determining that if said potent inhibitor binds to MN/CA IX at a level above that for a control sample, that MN/CA IX is abnormally expressed in said sample, and that the MN/CA IX to which said potent inhibitor binds is activated; wherein said inhibitor is selected from the group consisting of organic heterocyclic sulfonamides and organic aromatic sulfonamides, and wherein said inhibitor is determined to be a potent inhibitor of MN/CA IX enzymatic activity in a screening assay comprising determining the inhibition constant K I of said inhibitor; wherein if said inhibition constant K I is determined to be less than about 50 nanomolar, said inhibitor is determined be a potent inhibitor of MN/CA IX enzymatic activity; wherein said potent inhibitor is determined to be an MN/CA IX-specific inhibitor if it is a more potent inhibitor of MN/CA IX enzymatic activity than of the enzymatic activity of at least one of the carbonic anhydrases in the group consisting of CA I, CA II and CA IV.