Circulating Tumor Cells
Circulating Tumor Cells - Related Videos
05:22
Isolation and Propagation of Circulating Tumor Cells from a Mouse Cancer Model
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Cited by 8 •
2015
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been shown to play an important role in tumor metastasis. Here, a method for the isolation and propagation of CTCs from the whole blood of a syngeneic mouse tumor model of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) metastasis is described.
08:10
Capture and Release of Viable Circulating Tumor Cells from Blood
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Cited by 2 •
2016
A protocol to utilize a poly(N-iso-propylacrylamide) (PIPAAm) coated microfilter for effective capture and thermoresponsive release of viable circulating tumor cells (CTC) is presented. This method allows capture of CTC from patients' blood and subsequent release of viable CTC for downstream off-chip culture, analyses and characterization.
06:19
Isolation of Circulating Tumor Cells in an Orthotopic Mouse Model of Colorectal Cancer
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Cited by 13 •
2017
We describe the establishment of orthotopic colorectal tumors via injection of tumor cells or organoids into the cecum of mice and the subsequent isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from this model.
14:14
Adaptation of Semiautomated Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) Assays for Clinical and Preclinical Research Applications
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Cited by 11 •
2014
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are prognostic in several metastatic cancers. This manuscript describes the gold standard CellSearch system (CSS) CTC enumeration platform and highlights common misclassification errors. In addition, two adapted protocols are described for user-defined marker characterization of CTCs and CTC enumeration in preclinical mouse models of metastasis using this technology.
08:03
Generation of Prostate Cancer Patient Derived Xenograft Models from Circulating Tumor Cells
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Cited by 59 •
2015
This manuscript details a method used to generate prostate cancer patient derived xenografts (PDXs) from circulating tumor cells (CTCs). The generation of PDX models from CTCs provides an alternative experimental model to study prostate cancer; the most commonly diagnosed tumor and a frequent cause of death from cancer in men.
FAQs
Metastatic spread requires a sequence of location changes: tumor cells first enter blood vessels through intravasation, circulate, and later leave the bloodstream through extravasation. Extravasation is especially important because cells reaching distant tissues may initiate metastatic growth. Studying both transitions helps biology researchers connect the behavior of cells in circulation with the development of disease at distant sites.
Survival in the bloodstream is a major biological challenge for circulating tumor cells. They encounter mechanical shear forces from blood flow and immune surveillance that can eliminate vulnerable cells. Those that remain viable have the opportunity to reach distant tissues and undergo extravasation. Consequently, bloodstream survival is a key factor linking circulation with metastatic potential.
CTCs may differ from one another in their molecular characteristics, reflecting tumor heterogeneity. Molecular characterization can therefore reveal variation within the cancer-cell population rather than treating all tumor cells as biologically identical. This information supports research into how different cellular features relate to disease progression and helps investigate why tumors may respond differently to therapeutic strategies.
Liquid biopsy research uses circulating tumor cells as measurable material from the bloodstream. Two complementary approaches are enumeration, which assesses their quantity, and molecular characterization, which examines their biological features. Together, these measurements can provide information about the presence and state of tumor cells while avoiding reliance solely on sampling a local tumor site.
Researchers investigate Circulating Tumor Cells for cancer detection, prognosis, and treatment monitoring. Their measurement can help relate tumor-cell presence in blood to disease status, while repeated characterization may support evaluation of progression or treatment-related changes. The same approach also contributes to personalized therapy research by supplying information about tumor biology through a minimally invasive liquid biopsy.
CTC enumeration and molecular characterization provide complementary evidence about systemic cancer. Changes in measurable cells can contribute to assessments of disease progression or treatment monitoring, while molecular findings can expose differences among tumor cells. In biology and oncology, these data support research into tumor heterogeneity and may help guide personalized therapy by connecting circulating-cell features with clinical investigation.