ASSAY FOR METASTATIC COLORECTAL CANCER

摘要

This invention relates, e.g., to a method for predicting the prognosis, the likelihood of metastasis in, or the desirability of administering an aggressive therapy to, a subject with colorectal cancer, comprising determining, in a sample from the subject, the level of phosphorylation compared to a positive and/or negative reference standard, of one or more of: (a) AKT (S473); (b) BAD (S l 12); (c) cABL (T735); (d) ERK (T42/44); (e) MARCKS (S 152- 156); (0 p38MAPK (T l 80- 182): (g) STAT l (Y701 ); (h) PTEN (S380); (i) EGFR (Y992); (j) PAK 1 /2 (S l 19/204); or (k) PKC zeta/lambda (T410-403); or the total amount of (1) COX-2 protein; wherein if the level of phosphorylation of one or more of a-i or the total amount of COX-2 protein (1) is elevated compared to the negative reference standard, and/or i f the level of phosphorylation of j or k is decreased compared to the positive reference standard, the subject has poor prognosis, is likely to undergo metastasis, and/or is a good candidate for aggressive therapy. Also described are methods for treating subjects likely to develop metastatic colorectal carcinoma, and pharmaceutical compositions and kits for implementing methods of the invention.