Microfluidics in isolating and analyzing circulating tumor cells: a review

Abstract

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are cancer cells that shed from primary tumors, invade and circulate in bloodstream. They can extravasate in proper tissues/organs and form metastatic lesions. Although CTCs play key roles in cancer metastasis, they are difficult to be isolated from the blood by conventional methods. Microfluidics, an emerging technique capable of precisely manipulating a trace of liquid in microchannels, has numerous advantages in CTC researches. Herein, we reviewed the applications of microfluidics to isolate CTCs with high efficiency as well as high purity, and further discussed several biomedical analyses of CTCs based on microfluidic platforms. Key words: Circulating tumor cells; Microfluidics; Isolation; Biomedical analysis