There is provided novel peptides for use in diagnosis of CagA+ H. pylori infection or the prediction of risk for gastric cancer. The peptides bind antibodies from CagA+ H. pylori patients with high specificity and sensitivity, and can be used for example in a diagnostic kit.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an anti-GPR20 antibody that can be used in the detection of GPR20, a reagent for GPR20 detection comprising the antibody, a reagent for diagnosis or a composition for testing of a disease related to the expression of GPR20, etc. The present invention provides an antibody specifically binding to a peptide comprising the amino acid sequence at amino acid positions 1 to 48 in SEQ ID NO: 1, or an antigen-binding fragment of the antibody, a chimeric antibody of the antibody, a rabbit type antibody of the antibody, etc. The present invention also provides a composition comprising the antibody, etc.

A method for predicting whether a patient will be a long-term survivor on treatment of a disease by adoptive cell transfer (ACT), is disclosed comprising: (i) analysing a blood-derived sample obtained from the patient for one or more prognostic markers of long-term survival on treatment of a disease by ACT, and; (ii) based on the analysis of step (i), predicting whether the patient will be a long-term survivor on treatment of the disease by ACT. Also disclosed are methods for treating a patient by ACT, methods for selecting a patient for treatment by ACT, and methods for selecting a patient for treatment of a disease by ACT.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a novel monoclonal antibody having high affinity and that strictly recognizes, as a sugar chain epitope, only a “Siaα2,6Galβ1,4GlcNAc (6′-Sialyl-LacNAc): CDw75” sugar chain structure, being a molecular target for diagnosis of the malignancy of tumors. An anti-CDw75 monoclonal antibody is provided that recognizes “CDw75” sugar chain structures but does not recognize similar sugar chain structures indicated by “Galβ1,4GlcNAc”, “Siaα2,3Galβ1,4GlcNAc”, or “Siaα2,6Galβ1,4Glc”, by using a glycolipid antigen bonding a carrier lipid compound “HOCH.sub.2CH(NH—CO—(CH.sub.2).sub.22—CH.sub.3)—(CH.sub.2).sub.9—CH.sub.3 (C12L)” developed by the inventors to a “CDw75” sugar chain. The obtained anti-CDw75 monoclonal antibody is an excellent detection drug for B-cell lymphoma, gastric cancer, or colorectal cancer, an excellent diagnostic agent for tumor malignancy, etc., an excellent treatment agent for B-cell lymphoma, gastric cancer, or colorectal cancer, and an excellent prevention/treatment drug for influenza.

A method of detecting a predisposition to, or the incidence of, colorectal cancer in a fecal sample comprises, in a first step (a), detecting the presence of blood in the fecal sample, wherein detection of the presence of blood is indicative of a predisposition to, or the incidence of, colorectal cancer. The method additionally comprises, in second step (b), detecting an epigenetic modification in the DNA contained within the fecal sample, wherein detection of the epigenetic modification is indicative of a predisposition to, or the incidence of, colorectal cancer. Based upon a positive result obtained in either (a) or (b) or in both (a) and (b) a predisposition to, or the incidence of, colorectal cancer is detected. Related methods and kits involve detecting an epigenetic modification in a number of specific genes.

Early detection of tumors is a major determinant of survival of patients suffering from tumors, including gastric tumors. Members of the GTM gene family can be differentially expressed in gastric tumor tissue, and thus can be used as markers for the detection of gastric and other types of cancer. The present invention provides for novel GTMs for the detection of tumors, including gastric tumors, and in particular human zymogen granule protein 16 (ZG16). The GTMs can be used in isolation or together with other known GTMs to provide for novel signatures to be used in the detection of tumors, including gastric tumors.

The present invention provides assays and methods for predicting the post-operative survival of a subject having an early stage gastric cancer after tumor surgery. The present invention also provides methods for treating a subject having an early stage gastric cancer by administering a combination therapy tailored to the signal transduction biomarkers that are activated in the cancer. In particular embodiments, the methods of the invention rely on the detection of the activation state or level of a specific combination of signal transducer analytes in a cancer cell obtained from the subject. Thus, the methods of the invention are particularly useful for predicting the survival or prognosis of a subject having an early stage gastric cancer and for guiding both pre- and post-operative treatment decisions by identifying subjects who would benefit from combination therapy as opposed to monotherapy.

The present invention provides a method for diagnosing and determining prognosis of gastric cancer in a subject by detecting suppressed expression of the FOXF2 gene, which in some cases is due to elevated methylation level in the genomic sequence of this gene. A kit and device useful for such a method are also provided. In addition, the present invention provides a method for treating gastric cancer by increasing FOXF2 gene expression or activity.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are associated with metastasis of malignant solid tumors in a patient. Presented here is evidence that CTCs exhibit cell cycle phase variability and that there is a strong correlation between the number of CTCs in a mitotic cell cycle phase and the prospects for long term survival of the subject from which the cells were obtained. Also presented herein are methods of determining the mitotic cell cycle phase of CTCs from a patient having cancer and using the information in grading malignant solid tumors and predicting the likelihood of survival of the patient.

Embodiments described herein provide methods of determining a risk of progression of Barrett's esophagus in a subject, classifying Barrett's esophagus in a subject, and detecting a field effect associated with malignant transformation of an esophagus of a subject suffering from Barrett's esophagus. The disclosure also provides kits for determining a risk of progression of Barrett's esophagus in a subject and classifying Barrett's esophagus in a subject.