Contacts:
Cliff Murray
Director, Research and Development
Jackie Rodgers
Head of Business Development, Drug Development Services, Worldwide

CTCs and CECs as prognostic indicators in cancer

Medical Solutions has recently acquired all the elements of the CellSearch™ System (Immunicon Corp) for the enumeration of Circulating Tumour Cells (CTCs) and Circulating Endothelial Cells (CECs) from human peripheral blood.

CellTracks® AutoPrep Station in use

This exciting new development using the CellTracks® AutoPrep Station and the CellTracks® Analyser II, (manufactured by Immunicon Corporation and supplied by Veridex LLC in Europe), both complements and enhances Medical Solutions current reference laboratory product portfolio.

The AutoPrep System fully automates and standardises the blood sample preparation process whilst the unique cartridge format of the Analyser II makes fully quantifiable CTC/CEC measurements possible.


CTCs

  • The CellSearch™ Circulating Tumour Cell Kit is FDA approved for in vitro diagnostic use
  • The enumeration of CTCs in metastatic breast cancer is a proven prognostic indicator
  • Can be used for many other epithelial origin carcinomas (e.g. colon and lung)
  • A valuable tool for the monitoring of patient progress in clinical trials
  • Can assist patient management in directing or re-directing therapeutic regimes
  • Generates supportive data through the additional profiling of isolated cells

CECs

This platform technology can also be utilised to analyse circulating endothelial cells (CEC's), important in vasculitis associated with cardiovascular, diabetes, respiratory disease, as well as angiogenesis in cancer.

specialist profiling of isolated cells

Specialist staining can also be carried out on isolated cells. This includes HER2, EGFR and other cell differentiation (CD) markers. Indeed any FITC labelled commercially available antibody can be validated and utilised in parallel with the CellSearch™ System.

Progenitor cells may also be isolated for analysis.

Medical Solutions is the only UK commercial reference laboratory providing CTC and CEC analysis.

recommended references:

Global Gene Expression Profiling of Circulating Tumor Cells

Circulating Tumor Cells in Patients with Breast Cancer Dormancy