A Direct Comparison between the Lateral Magnetophoretic Microseparator and AdnaTest for Isolating Prostate...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Oncology
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are vital biomarkers for cancer management.
• The rarity of CTCs necessitates advanced isolation techniques for comprehensive analysis.
• Current methods face limitations in sensitivity and efficiency for CTC isolation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy of a novel lateral magnetophoretic microseparator (CTC-μChip) against a commercial method (AdnaTest ProstateCancer) for isolating CTCs.
• To evaluate the performance of both methods in CTC enumeration and genetic analysis.
• To determine the superior method for sensitive isolation and gene expression profiling of prostate CTCs.

Main Methods:

• Comparative study of CTC isolation using CTC-μChip and AdnaTest ProstateCancer from prostate cancer patient blood samples.
• CTC enumeration and white blood cell (WBC) contamination assessment.
• Genetic analysis of isolated CTCs using a cancer-specific gene panel via reverse transcription droplet digital PCR.

Main Results:

• CTC-μChip isolated an average of 17.67 CTCs/mL, significantly higher than AdnaTest's 1.56 CTCs/mL.
• CTC-μChip achieved higher CTC purity (3.91%) compared to AdnaTest (1.98%), despite higher WBC counts.
• Key cancer-associated genes (AR, AR-V7, PSMA) showed higher expression with CTC-μChip isolation.

Conclusions:

• The CTC-μChip demonstrates superior sensitivity and reliability for isolating CTCs compared to the AdnaTest ProstateCancer.
• CTC-μChip enables more effective gene expression analysis of prostate CTCs.
• This microfluidic device holds promise for advancing CTC-based cancer diagnostics and research.