In certain embodiments, the invention provides methods for treating
cancer, comprising: (a) obtaining a specimen of
cancer tissue and
normal tissue from a patient; (b) extracting
total protein and
RNA from the
cancer tissue and
normal tissue; (c) obtaining a
protein expression profile of the cancer tissue and
normal tissue; (d) identifying over-expressed proteins in the cancer tissue; (e) comparing the
protein expression profile to a
gene expression profile; (f) identifying at least one prioritized
protein target by assessing
connectivity of each said over-expressed protein to other cancer-related or stimulatory proteins; (g) designing a first
RNA interference
expression cassette to modulate the expression of at least one
gene encoding the prioritized
target protein; (h): designing a first
RNA interference
expression cassette to modulate the expression of at least one
gene encoding a protein of higher priority in the signaling pathway in which the first protein is a component; (i) incorporating the first cassette into a first
delivery vehicle; (j) providing a patient with an effective amount of the first
delivery vehicle; (k) extracting
total protein and RNA from the treated cancer tissue; (l) identifying over-expressed proteins in the treated cancer tissue; (m) designing a second
RNA interference expression cassette to modulate the expression of a second prioritized protein in the treated tissue; (n) incorporating the second cassette into a second
delivery vehicle; (o) providing the
previously treated patient with an effective amount of the second delivery vehicle; (p) identifying a
novel protein signal following
prior treatment with protein specific knockdown; (q) identifying a
gene mutation provided by gene sequencing /
microarray on assessment of other protein signals; and (r) identifying of a
novel protein signal as a result of determination of the
gene mutation and assessment of other protein signals to, directly or indirectly, modify the expression (i.e., production) of such proteins.