Circulating Tumor Cell Count Correlates with Colorectal Neoplasm Progression and Is a Prognostic Marker for Distant Metastasis in Non-Metastatic Patients.

ABSTRACT: Enumeration of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) has been proven as a prognostic marker for metastatic colorectal cancer (m-CRC) patients. However, the currently available techniques for capturing and enumerating CTCs lack of required sensitivity to be applicable as a prognostic marker for non-metastatic patients as CTCs are even more rare. We have developed a microfluidic device utilizing antibody-conjugated non-fouling coating to eliminate nonspecific binding and to promote the multivalent binding of target cells. We then established the correlation of CTC counts and neoplasm progression through applying this platform to capture and enumerate CTCs in 2 mL of peripheral blood from healthy (n = 27), benign (n = 21), non-metastatic (n = 95), and m-CRC (n = 15) patients. The results showed that

SUBMITTER: Tsai WS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4830949 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature