Abstract: The invention relates to a diagnostic method and related compositions for characterizing disseminated and micrometastasized cancer cells in body fluids using DNA, mRNA and/or protein. According to the method, DNAs, mRNAs and/or proteins of cancerous and non-cancerous cells obtained from a body fluid (i.e., cell preparations that are not enriched for cancer cells) and DNAs, mRNAs and/or proteins of cancerous cells that are removed from the body fluid (i.e., cell preparations that are enriched for cancer cells) are analyzed, to determine the presence or expression in body fluid cells of at least one cancer-specific gene that is not expressed in non-cancer cells or of at least one cancer-associated gene, and of at least one cancer-specific or cancer-associated gene in cancer cells removed from the body fluid cells (i.e., in isolated cancer cells).
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 24, 1998
Date of Patent:
June 6, 2006
Assignee:
Michael Giesing
Inventors:
Michael Giesing, Frank Austrup, Gerhard Driesel, Claudine Eder, Nico Feifel, Beatrix Holewa, Bernhard Suchy, Peter Uciechowski