This new technology is designed to screen for the autoantibodies for a spectrum of secreted tumor antigens in a single assay.

There are a number of specific antigens, such as alpha-fetal protein (AFP), nonmucinous ovarian cancer antigen (CA125), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), prostate-specific antigen (PSA), which are secreted into the serum of patients who have particular cancers. Kits for detecting these antigens are generally used as a means of diagnosing patients as having a specific cancer. However, the current methods suffer from a lack of sensitivity. The instant technology provides a method for the early diagnosis of different cancers that does not suffer the drawbacks of the current assays. The inventors observed that auto-antibodies against the cancer marker antigens can be detected in the serum of patients with particular cancers. This new technology is designed to screen for the autoantibodies for a spectrum of secreted tumor antigens in a single assay (BBA, in press). This provides a highly sensitive assay for diagnosing cancer at an early stage, or when the tumor is of a very small size. Claims of the instant invention are drawn to methods and kits for performing this analysis as a means of diagnosing cancer.

U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/751,133 filed 16 Dec 2005 (HHS Reference No. E-057-2006/0-US-01) Inventor: Yoon S. Cho-Chung (NCI)

Licensees sought. In addition to licensing, the technology is available for further development through collaborative research opportunities with the inventors.