The present invention relates to a method, in particular an
in vitro method, for pan-
cancer diagnostics, comprising identifying the amount and / or proportion of stable regulatory T cells in a patient suspected of having
cancer through analyzing the
methylation status of at least one CpG position in the
gene foxp3 and / or the
gene camta1 or orthologous or paralogous genes thereof, wherein an increased amount and / or proportion of stable regulatory T cells in said patient is indicative for an unspecific cancerous
disease. In a second aspect thereof, the present invention relates to a method for diagnosing the survival of a
cancer patient, comprising identifying the amount and / or proportion of stable regulatory T cells in said cancer patient through analyzing the
methylation status of at least one CpG position in the
gene foxp3 and / or the gene camta1 or orthologous or paralogous genes thereof, wherein a
demethylation in the gene foxp3 and / or the gene camta1 or orthologous or paralogous genes thereof, is indicative of a stable
regulatory T cell, and wherein an increased amount and / or proportion of stable regulatory T cells in said cancer patient is indicative for a shorter survival for said cancer patient. Furthermore, the present invention relates to an improved treatment of cancers based on the inventive methods, and a kit for performing the above methods as well as respective uses.