With a simple blood test, it can be possible to detect the early presence of circulating tumor cells in the blood. Two techniques are currently used in the laboratory for research projects: ISET (Rarecells® Diagnostics; http://www.isetbyrarecells.com/fr/) and CellSearch (Veridex;
https://www.cellsearchctc.com).
The
ISET (Isolation by Size of Epithelial Tumor cells) blood filtration technique is performed directly on the patient's whole blood. 10 mL of whole blood are used to pass through this ISET filter (10 small filters on the same support), which retain only the cells whose size is greater than 8 microns, including
circulating tumor cells. The cells are then ready to be stained or immunohistochemically labeled (staining or markings may be required for the same patient test). A pathologist specializing in this technique, belonging to our laboratory, characterizes these cells.
The
CellSearch technique is also performed directly on the patient's whole blood (collected in CellSave tubes) to detect Circulating Rare Cells. This tool can be used across several medical fields, including oncology. Currently, Veridex produces three kits: (1) for the detection of Circulating Tumor Cells, (2) for the detection of Circulating Endothelial Cells and (3) for the detection of Circulating Melanoma Cells.
The whole blood, after having been prepared according to a defined protocol, enters the first automaton step, the CellTracks® Autoprep® System, which allows immunomagnetism purification of the labeled cells. In the second step, fluorescent immunostaining of the target cells occurs. This preparation is then processed by a second PLC, the CellTracks Analyzer II®, which counts and characterizes all possible selected rare cells, along with image storage. Dedicated software sorts the data for validation by an authorized engineer from our laboratory.
