Capture and Isolation of Circulating Melanoma Cells Using Photoacoustic Flowmetry

Early detection of cancer has been a goal of cancer research in general and melanoma research in particular. Early detection of metastasis has been targeted as pivotal to increasing survival rates. Melanoma, though curable in its early stages, has a dramatic decrease in survival rates once metastasis has occurred. The transition to metastasis is not well understood and is an area of increasing interest. Metastasis is always premeditated by the shedding of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from the primary tumor. The ability to isolate rare CTCs from the bloodstream has led to a host of new targets and therapies for cancer. Detection of CTCs also allows for disease progression to be tracked in real time while eliminating the need to wait for additional tumors to grow. Using a photoacoustic flow cytometer, in which we induce ultrasonic responses from circulating melanoma cells (CMCs), we identify and quantify these cells in order to track disease progression. Additionally, these CMCs are captured and isolated, allowing for future analysis such as RNA-Seq or microarray analysis. Finally, anticipating the need to streamline clinical workflow, a method for testing in whole blood is offered.