CLAUDINS' UNDEREXPRESSION AS MARKERS OF TUMOR METASTASIS

摘要

A method for treating cancer in a mammal comprised of administering a therapeutically effective amount of an agent that induces the expression of one or more claudins within a cancerous cell. Preferably the claudin is claudin-3, claudin-4 aor claudin-9. In a preferred method, a nucleic acid that encodes a claudin is administered to the mammal under conditions wherein the nucleic acid is transfected into the cancerous cell and the claudin is produced in the cell. Also disclosed is a method for diagnosing cancer comprising determining the presence of a claudin 3, 4 or 9 in a cell that normally expresses the protein. If the cell does not express the claudin, then it is cancerous.