Lab on a chip and circulating tumor cells
Guest editors Hugh Fan and David Beebe introduce the circulating tumor cells themed issue of Lab on a Chip.
Rapid translation of circulating tumor cell biomarkers into clinical practice: technology development, clinical needs and regulatory requirements
This review highlights the challenges and opportunities for the translation of circulating tumor cell platforms into clinical research and care.
Miniaturized nuclear magnetic resonance platform for detection and profiling of circulating tumor cells
A novel NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) biosensor for the detection and molecular analyses of circulating tumor cells has been developed.
Multiscale immunomagnetic enrichment of circulating tumor cells: from tubes to microchips
A comprehensive review of the magnetic activated systems in multiple length scales to perform rare Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) detection.
Technologies for detection of circulating tumor cells: facts and vision
Hematogeneous tumor cell dissemination is a key step in cancer progression.
Advances and critical concerns with the microfluidic enrichments of circulating tumor cells
Over the past two decades, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been widely recognized for their importance in clinical trials.
Technologies for label-free separation of circulating tumor cells: from historical foundations to recent developments
Critical review of label-free CTC separation technologies including known morphological characteristics of CTCs and performance requirements of various post-separation processes.
Capture, release and culture of circulating tumor cells from pancreatic cancer patients using an enhanced mixing chip
A geometrically enhanced mixing (GEM) chip for high performance pancreatic CTC capture, release, culture, and for monitoring cancer treatment response.
Cell culture monitoring for drug screening and cancer research: a transparent, microfluidic, multi-sensor microsystem
We present a transparent, microfluidic, multi-sensor (pH, oxygen, glucose, and lactate) microsystem for monitoring cancer cell culture metabolism in drug screening.
Isolation of breast cancer and gastric cancer circulating tumor cells by use of an anti HER2-based microfluidic device
A novel HER2-based microfluidic device is able to isolate circulating tumor cells from the peripheral blood of cancer patients with HER2-expressing solid tumors.
Paired diagnostic and pharmacodynamic analysis of rare non-small cell lung cancer cells enabled by the VerIFAST platform
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and worldwide.
Size-selective collection of circulating tumor cells using Vortex technology
We tailor Vortex trapping technology for fast, high-purity extraction of viable CTCs from lung and breast cancer patient blood.
Sweeping lymph node micrometastases off their feet: an engineered model to evaluate natural killer cell mediated therapeutic intervention of circulating tumor cells that disseminate to the lymph nodes
We demonstrate targeted therapy in engineered lymph node microenvironments by conjugating TRAIL-functionalized liposomes to NK cells and culturing them in microbubble arrays with cancer cells.
Isolation and mutational analysis of circulating tumor cells from lung cancer patients with magnetic sifters and biochips
A miniature flow-through magnetic separation device.
UV activation of polymeric high aspect ratio microstructures: ramifications in antibody surface loading for circulating tumor cell selection
As an example of the effects of material and microchannel aspect ratios on device functionality, thermoplastic devices for the selection of CTCs from whole blood were evaluated.
Paper
Slanted spiral microfluidics for the ultra-fast, label-free isolation of circulating tumor cells
The enumeration and characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), found in the peripheral blood of cancer patients, provide a potentially accessible source for cancer diagnosis and prognosis.
About this collection
An improved understanding of cancer metastasis is required to further our treatment and response to cancer. During metastasis, some cancer cells escape from the primary tumor, enter the bloodstream and become circulating tumor cells in peripheral blood. Improved methods to capture and analyse these circulating cells could be pivotal in understanding how cancers metastasise. In this themed issue, guest edited by Hugh Fan (University of Florida) and David Beebe (University of Wisconsin-Madison), contributors make use of lab-on-a-chip technology to address this challenge, highlighting how the micro-scale may be the solution to improving capture and study.