What does ctc detect

The English name of CTC is Circulating Tumor Cell. As the name suggests, 45ctc testing refers to the detection of circulating tumor cells. Usually when we go to the hospital for a check-up, the doctor will ask us to do a CTC test. Generally, CTC enters the blood circulation through blood vessels, so the CTC detection of circulating tumor cells should be the detection of tumor cells in the blood, and then combined with other surgeries or methods to treat patients with tumors.

Significance and development prospects of CTC detection

CTC detection is the detection of tumor cells directly from the blood, that is, using advanced circulating tumor cell detection technology, tumor cells in the human body's peripheral circulating blood can be captured and detected and counted. CTC detection makes up for the limitation that tumor tissue is difficult to obtain, and it can be sampled repeatedly and has real-time monitoring function. In CTC research, less invasive biopsies are required instead of tissue samples, and the test results are basically stable clinically.

CTC detection usually includes two steps: separation and enrichment, and analysis and detection. Currently, there are many technologies and methods for detecting CTC, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Separation and enrichment methods are usually based on the physical properties (density and size) or immunological characteristics (molecular characteristics) of CTCs, including gradient centrifugation, filtration, immunomagnetic sorting, etc.; analytical detection techniques can be divided into cell counting methods and nucleic acid detection methods, such as immunocytochemistry, RT-PCR, etc. In order to improve the detection sensitivity, some new methods have been developed based on the above principles, such as fiber array scanning, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and CTC-chip.

It currently has high application prospects in major cancer centers in the United States, Europe and my country. With the development of single-cell whole genome detection technology, tumor biomarker detection based on CTC genome and gene expression profile design has become a new research hotspot. Gene or genome mutations are the root cause of tumor occurrence. Using single-cell whole genome sequencing technology, we can obtain tumor cells more accurately and conduct in-depth analysis, discover the differences between normal cells and tumor cells, understand the genetic mutations of cancer cells, identify the source of the tumor, analyze the growth patterns of the tumor, and provide guidance for early diagnosis of tumors and personalized tumor treatment. In addition, tumor heterogeneity is one of the causes of tumor resistance. By sequencing single tumor cells at the level of individual tumor cells, we can find out the common structure of a tumor in a single cell and reveal the mutation patterns of each tumor cell, thus providing a basis for anti-cancer drug research and tumor targeted therapy. With the continuous development of technology, peripheral blood CTC detection, as a reproducible non-invasive diagnostic marker, will play a greater role in the early metastasis diagnosis and staging of malignant tumors, prognosis assessment, efficacy monitoring and formulation of personalized medical plans.