Circulating Tumor Cell Detection in Lung Cancer Animal Model

Metastasis and recurrence of primary cancer are the main causes of cancer mortality. Disseminated tumor cells refer to cancer cells that cause metastasis from primary cancer to other organs. Several recent studies have suggested that circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are associated with the clinical stage, cancer recurrence, cancer metastasis, and prognosis. There are several methods of isolating CTCs from whole blood; in particular, using a membrane filtration system is advantageous due to its cost-effectiveness and availability in clinical settings. In this study, an animal model of lung cancer was established in nude mice using the human large cell lung cancer cell line H460.

Six-week-old nude mice were used. The H460 lung cancer cell line was injected subcutaneously into the nude mice. Blood samples were obtained from the orbital area before cell line injection, 2 weeks after injection, and 2 weeks after tumor excision. Blood samples were filtered using a polycarbonate 12-well Transwell membrane (Corning Inc., Corning, NY, USA). An indirect immunofluorescence assay was performed with the epithelial cell adhesion molecule antibody. The number of stained cells was counted using fluorescence microscopy.

The average size of the tumor masses was 35.83 mm. The stained cells were counted before inoculation, 2 weeks after inoculation, and 2 weeks after tumor excision. Cancer cells generally increased after inoculation and decreased after tumor resection.

The CTC detection method using the commercial polycarbonate 12-well Transwell (Corning Inc.) membrane is advantageous in terms of cost-effectiveness and convenience.