BiotechMashup

(Fox Chase Cancer Center) One of the most dangerous characteristics of cancer is its ability to metastasize, or spread through the body. For this reason, oncologists have a major need for better tests to detect cells that break away from primary tumors to travel to other parts of the body. Effective identification of these cells, referred to as circulating tumor cells, could help guide treatment and improve quality of life for many cancer patients.

Cancer cells circulating in the blood carry newly identified proteins that could be screened to improve prognostic tests and suggest targets for therapies, scientists report. Building on current technologies that detect tumor cells circulating in blood, the team was able to characterize these cells in a new way, illuminating how they may escape from the originating tumors and move to other locations in the body.

Cancer progression is commonly thought of as a process involving the growth of a primary tumor followed by metastasis, in which cancer cells leave the primary tumor and spread to distant organs. A new study shows that circulating tumor cells -- cancer cells that break away from a primary tumor and disseminate to other areas of the body -- can also return to and grow in their tumor of origin, a newly discovered process called "self-seeding."

(Duke University Medical Center) Cancer cells circulating in the blood carry newly identified proteins that could be screened to improve prognostic tests and suggest targets for therapies, report scientists at the Duke Cancer Institute. Building on current technologies that detect tumor cells circulating in blood, the Duke team was able to characterize these cells in a new way, illuminating how they may escape from the originating tumors and move to other locations in the body.

(Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center) Cancer progression is commonly thought of as a process involving the growth of a primary tumor followed by metastasis, in which cancer cells leave the primary tumor and spread to distant organs. A new study by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center shows that circulating tumor cells -- cancer cells that break away from a primary tumor and disseminate to other areas of the body -- can also return to and grow in their tumor of origin, a newly discovered process called "self-seeding."

The development of polymer film loaded with antibodies that can capture tumor cells shows promise as a diagnostic tool. Cancer cells that break free from a tumor and circulate through the bloodstream spread cancer to other parts of the body. But this process, called metastasis, is extremely difficult to monitor because the circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can account for as few as one in every billion blood cells.

Researchers have found that pancreatic cancer patients who have circulating tumor cells tend to have worse outcomes than patients without circulating tumor cells. Additionally, the team has uncovered evidence that not all circulating tumor cells are the same, and some may predict worse outcomes than others.

The presence of tumor cells circulating in the blood is associated with shortened survival. Now, researchers in Japan have developed a simple imaging system to detect circulating tumor cells, which could help clinicians hoping to predict a patient's chances of survival and/or monitor a patient's response to treatment.

(Fox Chase Cancer Center) Fox Chase Cancer Center investigators find that pancreatic cancer patients who have circulating tumor cells tend to have worse outcomes than patients without circulating tumor cells. Additionally, the team has uncovered evidence that not all circulating tumor cells are the same, and some may predict worse outcomes than others.