ASSESSING RISK OF METASTASES AND/OR DDFS OF PATIENTS WITH NEOPLASMS, SCREENING OF PATIENTS RESPONDING TO CANCER THERAPY AND SUCH THERAPY

摘要

The invention concerns a method for assessing the risk of metastases and/or distant disease free survival (DDFS), said method comprising the step of detecting the expression of fatty acid binding protein (FABP-3), wherein expression of FABP-3 indicates that said patient is less likely to develop metastasis and/or is more 1 ikely to present a longer DDFS than average. The invention also concerns a method for differentiating between patients which are either responsive or are none- responsive to anti epidermal growth factor receptor (anti-EGFR) therapy directed to the extracellular domain of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor, said method comprising the step of detecting the expression of fatty acid binding protein (FABP-3), wherein the absence of expression of FABP-3 indicates that said patient is likely to respond to said anti-EGFR therapy. The invention further concerns use of an EGFR-function inhibiting molecule that binds to the extracellular domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor for the manufacture of a medicine for the treatment of a neoplasm not expressing FABP-3. The invention still further concerns a method for treatment of a neoplasm in a patient employing the same therapy wherein said patient has been screened for FABP-3 expression to respond to said anti-EGFR therapy.