title: Endogenous light scattering as an optical signature of circulating tumor cell clusters.
abstract: Circulating tumor cell clusters (CTCCs) are significantly more likely to form metastases than single tumor cells. We demonstrate the potential of backscatter-based flow cytometry (BSFC) to detect unique light scattering signatures of CTCCs in the blood of mice orthotopically implanted with breast cancer cells and treated with an anti-ADAM8 or a control antibody. Based on scattering detected at 405, 488, and 633 nm from blood samples flowing through microfluidic devices, we identified 14 CTCCs with large scattering peak widths and intensities, whose presence correlated strongly with metastasis. These initial studies demonstrate the potential to detect CTCCs via label-free BSFC.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering Department, Tufts University, 4 Colby Street, Medford, Massachusetts, 02155, USA; These authors contributed equally to this work.
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lyons
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering Department, Tufts University, 4 Colby Street, Medford, Massachusetts, 02155, USA; These authors contributed equally to this work.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Polmear
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental, Molecular and Chemical Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Nora D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Mineva
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental, Molecular and Chemical Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Mathilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romagnoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental, Molecular and Chemical Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Gail E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Sonenshein
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering Department, Tufts University, 4 Colby Street, Medford, Massachusetts, 02155, USA.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Georgakoudi
keywords: (170.4580) Optical diagnostics for medicine; (290.1350) Backscattering