Means and Method for Ovarian Cancer Prognosis

Abstract

There is provided a method for determining whether a mammalian subject having an ovarian cancer belongs to a first or a second group, wherein the prognosis of subjects of the first group is better than the prognosis of subjects of the second group, comprising the steps of: a) evaluating an amount of RBM3 protein in at least part of a sample earlier obtained from the subject and determining a sample value corresponding to the evaluated amount; b) comparing said sample value with a predetermined refer-ence value; and if said sample value is higher than said ref-erence value, c1) concluding that the subject belongs to the first group; and if said sample value is lower than or equal to said reference value, c2) concluding that the sub-ject belongs to the second group. Related peptides, affinity ligands, uses and further methods are also provided.

Description

BACKGROUNDCancer[0001]Cancer is one of the most common causes of disease and death in the western world. In general, incidence rates increase with age for most forms of cancer. As human populations continue to live longer, due to an increase of the general health status, cancer may affect an increasing number of individuals. The cause of most common cancer types is still largely unknown, although there is an increasing body of knowledge providing a link between environmental factors (dietary, tobacco smoke, UV radiation etc) as well as genetic factors (germ line mutations in “cancer genes” such as p53, APC, BRCA1, XP etc) and the risk for development of cancer.[0002]No definition of cancer is entirely satisfactory from a cell biological point of view, despite the fact that cancer is essentially a cellular disease and defined as a transformed cell population with net cell growth and anti-social behavior. Malignant transformation represents the transition to a malignant phenotype base...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The patent text describes methods for determining the prognosis and treatment options for ovarian cancer based on the presence of certain proteins and mRNA in a sample from the patient. These methods can help identify which patients may benefit from specific treatments and which patients may not require treatment. The technical effects of this patent include improved diagnosis and prognosis of ovarian cancer, as well as improved treatment options for patients with the disease."

Problems solved by technology

Further, the inventors have realized that a major challenge is to identify and validate diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers that can shed light on the heterogeneity ascribed to ovarian cancer.

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