Process for detecting cancer and for monitoring the effectiveness of cancer therapy

摘要

A process for detecting cancer in a human patient is provided wherein a blood serum is recovered from the patient and is reacted with a monoclonal antibody comprising anti-haptoglobin variant under conditions to effect an immunoreaction when an immunosuppressive factor having a molecular weight of about 50K Daltons is present in the serum. The presence of immunosuppressive factor at concentration levels substantially exceeding normal concentration levels indicates the existence of immunoincompetence due to widely spread cancer. The effectiveness of cancer therapy is monitored by monitoring the change in levels of the immunosuppressive haptoglobin variant factor in the serum from the patient being treated.