The technology relates to the use of cDNA microarrays to facilitate the identification of pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors.  In order to identify molecular markers that could be used to classify pulmonary tumors, the inventors examined the gene expression profiles of clinical samples from patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC), large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC), and typical carcinoma (TC) tumors by cDNA microarray analysis to detect hybridization between cDNA from tumor cells and DNA from a panel of 8,897 human genes.  Gene expression was found to be nonrandom and to exhibit highly significant clustering that divided the tumors into their assigned World Health Organization (WHO) classification with 100% accuracy.  The inventors concluded that pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors could be classified based on the genome-wide expression profile of the clinical samples without further manipulations.

Applications: 

•    Method to differentiate three types of pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors;

•    Method to diagnose pulmonary neuroendocrine cancer;

•    Neuroendocrine Microarray

Advantages: 

Accurate, rapid, easy to use diagnostic to stratify patients according pulmonary tumors

Relevant Publication:  

P He et al. Identification of carboxypeptidase E and γ-glutamyl hydrolase as biomarkers for pulmonary neuroendocrine tumors by cDNA microarray. Human Pathol. 2004 Oct;35(10):1196-1209.  [PubMed abs]

U.S. Patent Application No. 10/533,459 filed 02 May 2005 (HHS Reference No. E-248-2002/0-US-04)

Inventors: 

Curtis C. Harris et al. (NCI)

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