Supervisors info:
Ευρύκλεια Λιανίδου, Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Χημείας, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών
Summary:
The development of metastatic disease is the major cause of death from cancer. During the process of metastases, cancer cells leave the primary side and via transportation from either blood, lymphatics or nerves they travel to distant sides where they create the metastasis. The detection of circulating tumour cells, (CTCs) might help in assessing prognosis from cancer, development of newer anticancer treatments, or in the follow up of the response to treatment.
CTCs are rare and they can be detected in the peripheral blood in concentrations of one cell over 106 leukocytes, therefore it is essential to enhance them in order to increase the sensitivity of the technique at the appropriated levels.
The detection of CTCs is done with methods that are either based on the morphological characteristics of the cells, (size, density, electrical current, dysformation), or based on the molecules that are expressed in the surface or their cytoplasm.
For the detection of the CTCs methods like flow cytometry. or RT-qPCR are used. Flow cytometry is based on the detection of the whole cancer cell with the help of specialized markers that recognize the surface or the cytoplasmic proteins. RT-qPCR detects nucleid acids.
In this study, whole blood was embolised with cancer cells in order to compare the different methods of isolation of CTCs using flow cytometry.
The isolation method with the bigger sensitivity was then used in samples from patients with metastatic breast cancer and in healthy volunteers, for the detection of circulating tumour cells. These samples were also studied with molecular methods.
