What can circulating tumor cells tell you?

You’re faced with a dilemma: there’s a tumor that’s too difficult to reach by surgical biopsy. How can you check if it’s progressing or responding to an intervention? Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) could give you the answer.

CTCs act as seeds of metastasis when shed into the blood by a tumor. Since CTCs mimic the properties of a tumor they can also serve as biomarkers. These biomarkers can give you vital clues about the specifics of a cancer, such as:

• Status
• Origin
• Progression
• Response to intervention

So how do you detect and characterize CTCs?

All you need is a blood sample and to follow three key steps to standardize your workflow from preanalytics to analytics.