You’re faced with a dilemma: There’s a tumor that’s too difficult to reach by surgical biopsy. How can you check if it’s progressing or responding to an intervention? Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), which are cells that break away from a primary tumor and travel through the bloodstream, could give you the answer.
CTCs act as seeds of metastasis when shed into the blood by a tumor. Since CTCs mimic the properties of a tumor they can also serve as biomarkers. These biomarkers can give you vital clues about the specifics of a cancer, such as:
- Status
- Origin
- Progression
- Response to intervention
Detecting and profiling CTCs can be challenging as they are rare and diverse. You have to contend with issues such as contamination. Sensitivity and specificity are also key considerations for reliable detection and molecular characterization of CTCs.
So how do you confidently detect and characterize CTCs?
All you need is a blood sample and to follow three key steps to standardize your workflow from preanalytics to analytics
