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Capture and Release of Viable Circulating Tumor Cells from Blood
Published on: October 28, 2016
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Culture of circulating tumor cells using a microfilter device
Atsuko Furukawa1, Tomoko Mori1, Osamu Shimomura2
1Department of Clinical Research and Regional Innovation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305‑8575, Japan.
Oncology Reports
|March 31, 2023
Summary
This study introduces a new microfilter method to capture and cultivate rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from pancreatic cancer patient blood. The technique successfully cultured CTCs, enabling potential patient-specific cancer diagnostics.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Biotechnology
- Medical Diagnostics
Background:
- Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are crucial biomarkers for cancer metastasis and prognosis.
- The low abundance of CTCs in whole blood hinders their diagnostic utility.
- Existing methods face challenges in efficiently isolating and culturing these rare cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a novel microfilter device for capturing and culturing circulating tumor cells (CTCs).
- To assess the feasibility of long-term CTC cultivation for further analysis.
- To explore the potential of cultured CTCs for personalized cancer medicine.
Main Methods:
- A prospective study involving 15 pancreatic cancer patients.
- Isolation of CTCs from 5 ml whole blood samples using a microfilter device.
- In-situ cultivation of captured cells on the microfilter for up to 103 days.
- Confirmation of cell activity using Calcein AM staining and EpCAM marker observation.
Main Results:
- CTCs and/or CTC clusters were detected at baseline in 2 of 6 initial cases.
- All samples showed CTCs, clusters, or colonies upon long-term culture.
- Emergence of CTC clusters and colonies was observed even in samples initially negative for CTCs.
- Cultured cells demonstrated viability and expressed epithelial cellular adhesion molecule (EpCAM).
Conclusions:
- The developed microfilter system effectively captures and enables long-term culture of CTCs.
- This method overcomes the scarcity issue, allowing for the observation of CTC growth.
- Cultured CTCs hold promise for patient-specific drug susceptibility testing and genomic profiling.
