Abstract 2294: The development of 3D deformable microfilter with a DNA aptamer for detecting circulating tumor cell

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: The analysis of blood for circulating tumor cells (CTCs) has opened new avenues for cancer diagnostics, including early detection, risk assessment and staging. However, research about CTCs has been challenging due to the rarity of CTCs in bloodstream. We develop a three-dimensional deformable microfilter with a EpCAM aptamer for detecting CTCs and conduct a pilot study to evaluate the efficacy of our novel detection devise. Methods: The cancer cell suspension with blood from healthy volunteers and human blood sample from cancer patients are passed through the microfilter and counted by fluorescence microscope. We also countered the number of cancer cells by CellSearch eq \o\ac(○,R)R. The peripheral blood sample from upper gastrointestinal cancer patients are also passed through the microfilter. Results: Even in the presence of 100 times normal cell, cancer cells were captured on the substrate successfully from cell suspensions with several mixing ratios. We can capture cancer cells suspended with PB from healthy volunteer more effectively compared with CellSerach®. A total of 15 patients and 40 samples were enrolled (Stage I: II: III: IV: recurrence=1:1:3:4:6). The average number of CTCs was 3.1 cells/ml (0-6.3 cells). Among the 15 patients with GC, CTCs were detected by our system in 13 patients. Even in GC patients suspected with peritoneal dissemination without definitive mass by imaging, CTCs were successfully detected. For the patients who were measured multiple times with clinical time course, we found a close correlation between CTC number and CEA level or image assessment. Conclusion: We successfully detected CTCs in the patients with upper gastrointestinal cancer patients. Although our pilot study indicates the potential of a novel devise to capture CTC effectively, a large scale of validation is needed to confirm the clinical utility. Citation Format: Masaaki Iwatsuki, Yuta Nakashima, Yusuke Kitamura, Keiichiro Yasuda, Hideo Baba. The development of 3D deformable microfilter with a DNA aptamer for detecting circulating tumor cell [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 2294.