“Liquid Biopsy” for Prostate Cancer
June 25, 2013 | Terry Sharrer
As pathologists know, all cancers are “written in blood”—with the cells and proteins tumors release into the bloodstream. Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and UCLA have developed a way of capturing circulating tumor cells and comparing them to tissue biopsies for prostate cancer: a combination of three technologies—a “NanoVelcro” chip, laser capture microdissection, and whole exome sequencing. The chip picks up the cells by their microvilli sticking to the device’s nanofibers. Laser capture microdissection allows an extraction of primary tumor cells from a tissue biopsy, and whole exome sequencing compares the two samples for insights about how to treat the disease. MORE
Image Credit: UCLA