CTC-chip-1

Posted on 26/11/2015

Researchers have invented a microchip-based device that can isolate and analyze tumor cells from a blood sample. CTCs, circulating tumor cells that are rarity and fragility, are hard to be detected. However, the innovative technology, CTC-chip, has the potential to monitor and guide cancer treatment. It is a revolution that using nanofluidics to find rare cells. The application is useful in clinical problem and allows the treatment be effective, less noninvasively and increase the probability of early screening in cancer. First, the device is a business-card-sized silicon chip covered with microscopic posts. Those microscopic posts are coated with antibodies to a protein expressed on tumors. Second, the new designed microchip device doesn’t require any pre-processing blood samples that may destroy or damage the fragile CTCs. Tested the blood samples by CTC-chip against 5 different types of common tumors – lung, prostate, breast, pancreatic and colorectal, researchers find that the CTC-chip has a sensitivity of 99 percent toward those tumors and changing levels of CTCs indeed accurately reflect the changing of tumor size as same as measured by standard CT scans.

[caption id=”attachment_60” align=”alignnone” width=”479”]CTC-chip 輸入副標題[/caption]

Scanning electron microscope image of a lung cancer cell adhering to an antibody-coated micropost on the CTC-chip.

Comment: The invention of CTC-chip not only provides the information needed to identify tumors but also help researchers better understanding the mechanisms and biology of cancer cells. It is a commercial, convenient and effective device that can improve the detection and treatment of tumors. The ultimate goal is to put them into clinical use, increase the accuracy as high as possible and reduce the reported mistakes.

Reference:

sciencedaily.com/…007/12/071219142056.htm

fluidicmems.com/…/09/OnQIty-CTC-Chip.jpeg