Fast enrichment and detection of circulating tumor cells from large volumes of whole blood of breast cancer patients utilizing a functionalized bioaffinity CTC filtration membrane
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are valuable liquid biopsy analytes as they facilitate an in‐depth characterization of disseminated tumors by a simple blood draw. Most CTC assays can only process limited blood volumes, potentially hampering the detection of cells of very low frequency, such as CTCs. Here, we introduce a novel, functionalized nickel filtration membrane, facilitating rapid enrichment of CTCs from various volumes of blood up to 40 mL and leukapheresis products. We validated this assay with different cancer cell lines and compared the performance of our new assay with that of the FDA‐cleared CellSearch® system. Performing a comparative analysis of 20 blood samples from patients with metastatic breast cancer, CTCs were found in 19/20 patients (95%), combining the results of both CTC enrichment assays. CTC counts/7.5 mL of blood ranged from 0 to 7280 (CTC filtration membrane) and 0 to 17,190 (CellSearch®). Applying the clinically relevant cut‐off of ≥5 CTCs/7.5 mL of blood, 19/20 samples processed with our CTC filter were categorized identically to those analyzed with the CellSearch® system. Furthermore, the filtration time of 40 s for 7.5 mL of blood represents an important advantage of our system, compared to other systems. Importantly, we also demonstrated the feasibility of processing blood samples of up to 40 mL or 2 × 10 8 nucleated blood cells in 2.5 min. Overall, our new system provides the advantage of performing ultra‐rapid enrichment of CTCs and upscaling the volume of blood that can be analyzed, which opens a new avenue for studies on CTC biology.
Source: International Journal of Cancer
DOI: 10.1002/ijc.70216
Authors: Leonie F. Ott, Laura Keller, Nathan Bentley, Hümeyra Husseini‐Wüsthoff, René Werner, Marc Zinggeler, Jakoba Heidler, Parinaz Mossahebi Mohammadi, Cornelia Coith, Anne Pradines, Nikolas H. Stoecklein, Malte Löptien, Sven Peine, Maria Geffken, Corinna Güsmer, Mina Netkova‐Heintzen, Volkmar Müller, Elena Laakmann, Verena Thewes, Thomas M. Deutsch, Laura L. Michel, Andreas Schneeweiss, Andreas Trumpp, Jürgen Rühe, Thomas Brandtstetter, Sabine Riethdorf, Klaus Pantel
Institutions: University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, University of Freiburg, Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (Switzerland), Düsseldorf University Hospital, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, German Cancer Research Center, DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg University, University Hospital Heidelberg, National Center for Tumor Diseases
Language: English
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $5,030
Awards: G1487099354, G1621890048
OpenAlex ID: W4415618778