Diagnostic protocol
US6063586A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 4, 1998 |
| Grant date | May 16, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 4, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2333/71
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A cancer prognostic having particular utility in the prognosis of head and neck squamous cell cancer, in which the expression levels of either or both of Transforming Growth Factor Alpha (TGF-.alpha.) or Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) are assayed directly from a sample of tumor tissue. The expression level once quantitated is normalized as to standard, and the standardized expression level is compared to the prognostic threshold of about 83% of standard for TGF-.alpha. or of about 23% of standard for EGFR, or the corresponding upper threshold of the "low" tertile regardless of how calculated. Virtually all if not all patients demonstrating this low expression level survive at least five years after initial diagnosis, assuming completion of treatment with standard surgical tumor excision and radiation protocols for squamous cell head and neck cancer. Whether an individual patient's expression levels of TGF-.alpha. and EGFR fall inside or outside of this category signifies whether the patient is in a good or poor prognostic category, respectively, which in turn guides appropriate choice of therapy.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.