Enumeration of Circulating Tumour Cells (CTCs) in Patients With Advanced Solid Malignancy Using Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) Technology

Modern anti-cancer treatments are focused on development of molecular based therapies i.e. specific treatments targeted against underlying biological processes. There is still much to learn about the biology of cancer, especially in tumours such as colorectal and lung cancer where it is likely multiple heterogenous signaling pathways are responsible for progression of disease. This project aims to evaluate circulating tumour cells (CTCs) as a surrogate biomarker for tumour characteristics and to determine how they may used to identify new targets for therapeutic agents. Their use could be applied to diagnosis of cancer, prediction of response to therapies and prognosis, ultimately across a broad range of tumour types. Currently the only way to investigate molecular features of a cancer is through procurement of an invasive tumour biopsy that is often difficult to obtain, often results in insufficient material and is unpleasant for the patient. A blood-based test would provide a much more practical and patient friendly alternative. The enumeration and molecular characterisation of CTCs has the novel potential of being a "virtual biopsy" of the tumour and offers the opportunity for immediate therapeutic decisions (eg. if the tumour develops a therapy resistant genotype while on treatment). CTCs have been known to circulate in bloodstream of cancer patients for many years and are known to lead to cancer metastases. They have been very difficult to detect, up until recently, due to the complexity of the metastatic process and detecting relatively small numbers of CTCs amongst billions of red and white blood cells. However, technology has moved on dramatically in the last few years. The FDA approved CellSearch platform (Veridex, NJ) can isolate and enumerate CTCs based on the immunomagnetic capture of EpCAM (epithelial cell adhesion molecule) positive cells. Several studies have recently demonstrated the value of CTC enumeration in reflecting prognosis and predicting ear