Detection and Characterization of Circulating Tumor Cells Using Imaging Flow Cytometry-A Perspective Study.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Biotechnology
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Tumor dissemination is a critical aspect of cancer progression.
• Liquid biopsy technologies, including circulating tumor cells (CTCs), extracellular vesicles (EVs), and circulating nucleic acids, have advanced cancer diagnostics and monitoring.
• Traditional flow cytometry for CTC detection lacked cell identity verification, limiting clinical utility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the application of flow cytometry in identifying CTCs.
• To present imaging flow cytometry as a novel technology for CTC analysis.
• To evaluate the potential of imaging flow cytometry as an alternative to the CellSearch® system.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing studies on flow cytometry for CTC identification.
• Utilization of imaging flow cytometry for high-resolution, image-based analysis of CTCs.
• Presentation of representative images of CTCs obtained via imaging flow cytometry.

Main Results:

• Imaging flow cytometry combines the sensitivity of flow cytometry with detailed image analysis.
• This technology offers an open-platform system for CTC detection.
• Representative images demonstrate the potential of imaging flow cytometry in visualizing CTCs.

Conclusions:

• Imaging flow cytometry presents a novel avenue for CTC technologies.
• This method may serve as an open-platform alternative to current gold standards like CellSearch®.
• Combined with enrichment methods, imaging flow cytometry could significantly upgrade CTC-based diagnostics for tumor dissemination.