title: Detection and isolation of circulating tumor cells: principles and methods.
abstract: Efforts to improve the clinical management of several cancers include finding better methods for the quantitative and qualitative analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs). However, detection and isolation of CTCs from the blood circulation is not a trivial task given their scarcity and the lack of reliable markers to identify these cells. With a variety of emerging technologies, a thorough review of the exploited principles and techniques as well as the trends observed in the development of these technologies can assist researchers to recognize the potential improvements and alternative approaches. To help better understand the related biological concepts, a simplified framework explaining cancer formation and its spread to other organs as well as how CTCs contribute to this process has been presented first. Then, based on their basic working-principles, the existing methods for detection and isolation of CTCs have been classified and reviewed as nucleic acid-based, physical properties-based and antibody-based methods. The review of literature suggests that antibody-based methods, particularly in conjunction with a microfluidic lab-on-a-chip setting, offer the highest overall performance for detection and isolation of CTCs. Further biological and engineering-related research is required to improve the existing methods. These include finding more specific markers for CTCs as well as enhancing the throughput, sensitivity, and analytic functionality of current devices.
authors.affiliation: School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering, Simon Fraser University, 250-13450 102nd Avenue, Surrey, V3T 0A3, BC, Canada; Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, V5A 1S6, BC, Canada; School of Engineering Science, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, V5A 1S6, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Hadi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Esmaeilsabzali
authors.forename: Timothy V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Beischlag
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: Ash M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Parameswaran
authors.forename: Edward J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D001709:Biotechnology; D002469:Cell Separation; D006801:Humans; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
keywords: Biomarker; CTC detection methods; CTC isolation methods; Cancer; Carcinoma; Circulating tumor cell; Image cytometry; Immunomagnetic; Metastasis; Microfluidics