CTC
Circulating Tumor Cells — Liquid Biopsy
What is CTC?
Cancer cells that break off from the tumor mass and enter the bloodstream are called circulating tumor cells (CTCs). While the vast majority of CTCs are destroyed by the immune system, some die on their own. Some of the surviving CTCs reach a new organ/tissue through the blood and proliferate, thereby causing metastasis, which is responsible for 90% of cancer-related deaths.
What is CTC Liquid Biopsy?
CTC liquid biopsy is a method that enables circulating tumor cells (CTCs) to be captured and analyzed from the blood of cancer patients.
The purposes of performing CTC liquid biopsy are given below:
- Monitoring of the diagnosed cancer disease
- Planning of personalized treatment
- Monitoring the effectiveness of treatment
- Monitoring whether the cancer recurs
What Are the Advantages Over Tissue Biopsy?
In tissue biopsy, the traditional method used in cancer diagnosis and monitoring, all or part of the tumor tissue is removed and analyzed. The CTC liquid biopsy technique, on the other hand, only requires a tube of blood drawn from a vein and offers many advantages to patients and physicians over tissue biopsy, which is a surgical procedure.
Advantages for the patient
- Enables close monitoring of the disease and the treatment applied
- Only requires a blood draw from a vein; no surgical procedure
- Does not cause pain
Advantages for the physician
- Can also be applied to patients for whom tissue biopsy cannot be performed
- Can be applied in series, enabling access to real-time information
- Molecular analyses performed on the isolated cells provide information about the course of the disease and the response to treatment
Who is it suitable for?
- It can be applied, following a physician's assessment, in diagnosed cancer patients who can give blood from a vein.
- It is not applied to patients with hematological cancers.
What are the stages?
Blood drawn from the patient
Separation and identification of cancer cells from blood cells
Advanced molecular analyses on CTCs if your physician deems necessary
Preparation of the pathology report containing the results and delivery to your physician
Result time and important notice
Analysis results are delivered to your physician within two weeks. This test is not a diagnostic test. A diagnosis of cancer cannot be made based on the detection of CTCs as a result of this test. However, in such a case, your physician may put you under monitoring or direct you to other diagnostic methods.
Cellsway CTC Analysis Device
The CTC analysis device developed by Cellsway enables tumor cells to be captured and analyzed from the blood of patients diagnosed with cancer, using its proprietary microfluidic technology.
- Analytical performance studies carried out in different cancer types (lung, breast, prostate, colorectal, ovarian cancers) have shown that CTCs can be captured with high efficiency.
- In clinical studies, 90% CTC positivity was found in prostate cancer patients and 60% in breast cancer patients.
- CTC analysis can be applied for all cancer stages and the monitoring of recurrence.
Cellsway CTC Test Panels
CTC Identification Test Panel
The CTC Identification Test Panel enables the detection of epithelial-origin CTCs (CD45-, cytokeratin+, DAPI+) through immunofluorescence analysis. The kit contains all the solutions needed for cytokeratin, CD45 and nucleus staining.
A breast cancer cell stained with the CTC Identification Test Panel is visualized.
ER/PR/Her2 CTC Test Panel
The ER/PR/Her2 CTC Test Panel enables the determination of the hormone receptor (Estrogen Receptor-ER, progesterone receptor-PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status in CTCs through immunofluorescence analysis. The status of these markers plays an important role especially in determining the course of the disease and treatment management in breast cancer.
The kit contains all the solutions needed for ER, PR and HER2 staining. It is used together with the CTC identification kit.
A breast cancer cell stained with the ER/PR/Her2 CTC Test Panel is visualized.
PD-L1 CTC Test Panel
The PD-L1 CTC Test Panel enables the determination of the PD-L1 biomarker in CTCs through immunofluorescence analysis. Patients in whom PD-L1 positivity is detected are known to respond better to immune checkpoint inhibitor drugs. The status of the PD-L1 marker plays an important role especially in determining the course of the disease and treatment management in lung cancer.
The kit contains all the solutions needed for PD-L1 staining. It is used together with the CTC identification kit.
A breast cancer cell stained with the PD-L1 CTC Test Panel is visualized.
RUO Warning
The CTC analysis device, microfluidic chip and test panels are for research use only (RUO) and cannot be used to guide cancer diagnosis and treatment. CTC test panels are for research use only (RUO) and cannot be used to guide cancer diagnosis and treatment.