Method for diagnosing and treating cancer

Abstract

A method for treating cancer in a mammal comprised of administering a therapeutically effective amount of an agent that induces the expression of one or more claudins within a cancerous cell. Preferably the claudin is claudin-3, claudin-4 aor claudin-9. In a preferred method, a nucleic acid that encodes a claudin is administered to the mammal under conditions wherein the nucleic acid is transfected into the cancerous cell and the claudin is produced in the cell. Also disclosed is a method for diagnosing cancer comprising determining the presence of a claudin 3, 4 or 9 in a cell that normally expresses the protein. If the cell does not express the claudin, then it is cancerous.

Description

Background of the invention

[0001] Cancer forms from the uncontrolled proliferation of cells. All cancers are life-threatening. Even when cancer does not result in death, it is debilitating not only for the patient, but also for family, friends and colleagues. And, all too often, cancer proves fatal. The individual and public toll from such diseases, which account for a significant portion of all premature deaths, is incalculable.

[0002] Although effective forms of treatment have been developed in some cases, many cancers remain refractory to existing treatments. Particularly refractory are metastatic cancers. These cancers pose the highest risk to the patient and, for an optimal prognosis, must often be treated by invasive methods with an increased risk of deleterious side effects. Therefore, there is a great need for methods to accurately distinguish those tumors that are likely to metastasize from those that are unlikely to metastasize. Furthermore, methods of treat...