ALDH1 As A Cancer Stem Cell Marker

Abstract

The present invention relates to compositions and methods for treating, characterizing, and diagnosing cancer. In particular, the present invention provides a novel stem cell cancer marker, ALDH1, useful for the diagnosis, characterization, and treatment of solid tumor stem cells.

Description

[0001]The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 846,648 filed Sep. 22, 2006, which is herein incorporated by reference.[0002]This invention was made with government support under Grant No. R01-CA010860 awarded by the National Institutes of Health. The Government has certain rights in the invention.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0003]The present invention relates to compositions and methods for treating, characterizing, and diagnosing cancer. In particular, the present invention provides a novel stem cell cancer marker, aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1), useful for the diagnosis, characterization, and treatment of solid tumor stem cells.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0004]Breast cancer is the most common female malignancy in most industrialized countries, as it is estimated to affect about 10% of the female population during their lifespan. Although its mortality has not increased along with its incidence, due to earlier diagnosis and improved treatment,...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0030]In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods for determining the effect of a test compound on a solid tumor stem cell, comprising the steps of: (a) obtaining an enriched population of solid tumor stem cells, wherein; (i) the tumor cells are derived from a solid tumor; (ii) the solid tumor stem ce

Problems solved by technology

Although its mortality has not increased along with its incidence, due to earlier diagnosis and improved treatment, it is still one of the predominant causes of death in middle-aged women.

However, the currently available treatment options often prolong the disease-free state and overall survival rate, as well as increase the quality of the life.

The morphologic appearance of the tumor can also be assessed but because tumors with similar histopathologic appearance can exhibit significant clinical variability, this approach has serious limitations.

Yet these analyses, though useful, are only partially predictive of the clinical behavior of breast tumors, and there is much phenotypic diversity present in breast cancers that current diagnostic tools fail to detect.

Furthermore, although current therapies can often prolong the disease-free state and overall survival when used on high-risk patients, they are limited by their lack of specificity and the emergence of treatment-resistant cancer cells.

Because of the relatively low rate of reoccurrence, the benefit of post surgical chemotherapy in Duke' B has been harder to detect and remains controversial.

However, the Duke's B classification is imperfect as approximately 20-30% of these patients behave more like Duke's C and relapse within five years.

Indeed, mutations within a long-lived stem cell population can initiate the formation of cancer stem cells that underlie the growth and maintenance of tumors and whose presence contributes to the failure of current therapeutic approaches.

Although great strides have been made understanding the genetic changes that lead to cancer (e.g. breast cancer and colorectal cancer), the lack of reliable tumor assay for de novo human cancer cells has hindered the ability to understand the effects of these mutations at the cellular level.

Also, the lack of identified cancer markers for solid tumor stem cells has hindered the development of diagnostics and therapeutics for cancer patients (e.g. breast cancer patients).

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