title: Genetic analysis of circulating tumor cells in pancreatic cancer patients: A pilot study.
abstract: Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive malignant tumors, mainly due to an aggressive metastasis spreading. In recent years, circulating tumor cells became associated to tumor metastasis. Little is known about their expression profiles. The aim of this study was to develop a complete workflow making it possible to isolate circulating tumor cells from patients with pancreatic cancer and their genetic characterization.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We show that the proposed workflow offers a technical sensitivity and specificity high enough to detect and isolate single tumor cells. Moreover our approach makes feasible to genetically characterize single CTCs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our work discloses a complete workflow to detect, count and genetically analyze individual CTCs isolated from blood samples. This method has a central impact on the early detection of metastasis development. The combination of cell quantification and genetic analysis provides the clinicians with a powerful tool not available so far.
authors: Beckman Coulter Biomedical GmbH, 81377 Munich, Germany.
authors: Karin
authors: K
authors: Görner
authors: Department of Surgery, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, 81675 Munich, Germany.
authors: Jeannine
authors: J
authors: Bachmann
authors: Beckman Coulter Biomedical GmbH, 81377 Munich, Germany.
authors: Claudia
authors: C
authors: Holzhauer
authors: Beckman Coulter Biomedical GmbH, 81377 Munich, Germany.
authors: Roland
authors: R
authors: Kirchner
authors: Institute for Transplantation Diagnostics and Cell Therapy, Heinrich-Heine Universität Düsseldorf, Medical Faculty, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors: Katharina
authors: K
authors: Raba
authors: Institute for Transplantation Diagnostics and Cell Therapy, Heinrich-Heine Universität Düsseldorf, Medical Faculty, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors: Johannes C
authors: JC
authors: Fischer
authors: Department of Surgery, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, 81675 Munich, Germany.
authors: Marc E
authors: ME
authors: Martignoni
authors: Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technische Universität München, 81675 Munich, Germany.
authors: Matthias
authors: M
authors: Schiemann
authors: Beckman Coulter Biomedical GmbH, 81377 Munich, Germany. Electronic address: Marianna.Alunni@uni.med-muenchen.de.
authors: Marianna
authors: M
authors: Alunni-Fabbroni
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002469:Cell Separation; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000378:metabolism*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010865:Pilot Projects
keywords: Circulating tumor cells; Flow cytometry; Genetic profile; Pancreatic cancer; RT-PCR