Circulating Tumor Cell News and Research

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Gene-encoded protein may be effective in early detection of pancreatic cancer

A protein encoded by the gene glypican-1 (GPC1) present on cancer exosomes may be used as part of a potential non-invasive diagnostic and screening tool to detect early pancreatic cancer, potentially at a stage amenable to surgical treatment, according to a study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

24 Jun 2015

USC Stem Cell scientist named 2015 Pew-Stewart scholar for cancer research

USC Stem Cell researcher Min Yu, MD, PhD, is one of five early-career scientists to be named a 2015 Pew-Stewart scholar for cancer research. As part of this honor, she will receive $240,000 over four years to advance the understanding of metastatic breast cancer.

11 Jun 2015

Epic Sciences presents single cell sequencing data from mCRPC patients at 2015 ASCO

Epic Sciences announced today that the company will present single cell sequencing data, from metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer patients, at the 2015 annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology. This application expands the investigational utility of Epic Sciences' no cell left behind™ platform to characterize circulating tumor cell (CTC) genomic alterations.

1 Jun 2015

New microfluidic chip can capture rare clusters of circulating tumor cells

Researchers have developed a microfluidic chip that can capture rare clusters of circulating tumor cells, which could yield important new insights into how cancer spreads. The work was funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, part of the National Institutes of Health.

19 May 2015

Automated PoCyton cytometer effective for counting cancer cells

Biological and medical scientists have been using flow cytometry to count cancer cells for the past 40 years. But the large instruments are expensive and can only be operated by trained personnel. By contrast the PoCyton cytometer developed by Fraunhofer researchers is cheap to produce, no bigger than a shoebox, and automated.

6 May 2015

CANCER-ID consortium aims to set up standard procedures for clinical validation of blood-based biomarkers

Blood-based biomarkers such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating free DNA (cfDNA), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and microRNAs (miRNAs) are potential indicators for the tumor burden of patients living with cancer.

30 Apr 2015

AMP report provides overview of current research on minimally invasive 'liquid biopsy' approaches

The Association for Molecular Pathology, the premier global, non-profit organization serving molecular diagnostic professionals, today published a special article in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics titled, "Do Circulating Tumor Cells, Exosomes, and Circulating Tumor Nucleic Acids Have Clinical Utility?" The report provides a thorough overview of research to-date on the minimally invasive "liquid biopsy" approaches to cancer diagnostics.

23 Apr 2015

Houston Methodist researchers discover new, ex vivo lung cancer model to study tumor progression

Without good models to study cancer metastasis -- the spread of cancer cells from one organ to another -- cancer researchers have struggled to understand tumor progression fully, and new therapies targeting the main causes of death are slow to come.

16 Apr 2015

Thomas Jefferson University, Exosome Sciences team up to evaluate new liquid biopsy platform

Today, Thomas Jefferson University announces a partnership with Exosome Sciences Inc. to evaluate a novel liquid biopsy platform that might offer clinicians new and actionable information about a patient's cancer as the disease progresses and changes, via a simple blood test.

3 Apr 2015

Immunomagnetic assay with microfluidic technology can capture, manipulate circulating tumor cells

To quantify rare tumor markers that will allow oncologists to make prognoses and select therapies, John X.J. Zhang, PhD led a team of bioengineers from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth in demonstrating a novel system that couples nano-engineered particles and microfluidic chips for capturing and manipulating circulating tumor cells (CTCs).

25 Mar 2015

CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology targets every gene in the genome in animal cancer model

For the first time, CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology has been employed in a whole organism model to systematically target every gene in the genome.

6 Mar 2015

EORTC researchers review potential treatment options for patients with locally advanced breast cancer

Treating patients with locally advanced inoperable breast cancer is an extremely difficult task. The overwhelming majority of patients treated for this disease suffer relapse and, despite the best multimodal treatment, do not survive. There is a medical need to examine current and potential treatments, and EORTC researchers have recently published an article in Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology concerning this topic.

27 Feb 2015

AR-V7 status does not affect response to taxane chemotherapy in patients with mCRPC

Findings from a small prospective study suggest that androgen receptor V7 (or AR-V7) status does not significantly affect response to taxane chemotherapy in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Treatment outcomes were largely similar for the 17 patients with AR-V7-positive prostate cancer and the 20 patients with AR-V7-negative disease included in this analysis.

25 Feb 2015

Agena releases MassARRAY 24-Well System for mass spectrometry-based genetic testing

Agena Bioscience today released the MassARRAY 24-Well System for mass spectrometry-based genetic analysis, adding to its existing MassARRAY portfolio. The new 24-well format is tailored to smaller clinical testing laboratories requiring modest sample throughput, reduced initial hardware costs, and reduced time to result.

24 Feb 2015

SRI Biosciences awarded contract to develop novel polymers to neutralize chemical, biological threats

SRI Biosciences, a division of SRI International, has been awarded a $10 million contract under a DARPA program to reimagine how proteins are constructed and to develop novel medicines and diagnostics as countermeasures to chemical and biological threats.

12 Feb 2015

Morphogenesis, University of Florida partner to develop novel device to isolate rare cells

Senior engineering students and faculty at the University of Florida in Gainesville are partnering with biotech cell and gene therapy company Morphogenesis, Inc. in Tampa to design an advanced, fully automated cell separation system capable of capturing rare cells – such as stem cells – and circulating tumor cells.

4 Feb 2015

U-M researchers devise reliable way to grow tumor cells

In a development that could lead to a deeper understanding of cancer and better early-stage treatment of the disease, University of Michigan researchers have devised a reliable way to grow a certain type of cancer cells from patients outside the body for study.

18 Dec 2014

Rice-led research shows how migratory cancer cells acquire 'stem-like' properties

In the first study of its kind, Rice University researchers have mapped how information flows through the genetic circuits that cause cancer cells to become metastatic. The research reveals a common pattern in the decision-making that allows cancer cells to both migrate and form new tumors. Researchers say the commonality may open the door to new drugs that interfere with the genetic switches that cancer must flip to form both cancer stem cells and circulating tumor cells -- two of the main players in cancer metastasis.

31 Oct 2014

CTCs in blood of metastatic cancer patients give genomic read-out of breast cancer

The genetic fingerprint of a metastatic cancer is constantly changing, which means that the therapy that may have stopped a patient's cancer growth today, won't necessarily work tomorrow.

9 Oct 2014

Researchers identify new technique to find rare stem cells

Deep within the bone marrow resides a type of cells known as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). These immature cells can differentiate into cells that produce bone, cartilage, fat, or muscle — a trait that scientists have tried to exploit for tissue repair.

7 Oct 2014