Circulating Tumor Cell Enrichment and Single-Cell Isolation Combining the CellSearch^® and DEPArray™ Systems

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Molecular Biology
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are crucial biomarkers for cancer detection, prognosis, and treatment monitoring.
• Liquid biopsy, using blood draws, provides a less invasive alternative to tissue biopsies for accessing CTCs.
• Understanding CTCs' molecular traits is key to deciphering metastatic progression and patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a comprehensive workflow for CTC enrichment and single-cell isolation.
• To enable detailed molecular analysis of individual CTCs for cancer research.
• To improve the utility of liquid biopsies in oncology.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the FDA-cleared CellSearch® system for CTC enrichment.
• Employed DEPArray™ technology for precise isolation of single CTCs.
• Integrated these methods into a workflow for subsequent molecular single-cell analyses.

Main Results:

• The described workflow effectively enriches CTCs from blood samples.
• Single CTCs can be reliably isolated using DEPArray™ technology post-enrichment.
• This enables downstream molecular characterization of individual CTCs.

Conclusions:

• The CellSearch® and DEPArray™ workflow provides a powerful tool for CTC analysis.
• This approach advances the potential of liquid biopsies in cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.
• Further molecular single-cell analyses of CTCs can yield critical insights into cancer biology.