A device that can isolate individual cancer cells from patient blood samples has been developed by Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Queensland University of Technology of Australia.
Ian Papautsky, the Richard and Loan Hill Professor of Bioengineering in the UIC College of Engineering and corresponding author on the paper said, “This new microfluidics chip lets us separate cancer cells from whole blood or minimally-diluted blood.”
He further added, “While devices for detecting cancer cells circulating in the blood are becoming available, most are relatively expensive and are out of reach of many research labs or hospitals. Our device is cheap, and doesn’t require much specimen preparation or dilution, making it fast and easy to use.”
Liquid biopsy could also be useful in tracking the efficacy of chemotherapy over the course of time, and for detecting cancer in organs difficult to access through traditional biopsy techniques, including the brain and lungs. Liquid biopsy can detect cancer through a simple blood draw.
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