Cultured CTCs reveal genetic profile, potential drug susceptibility of breast cancer cells

Circulating tumor cells captured with a microchip-based device developed at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Engineering in Medicine and the MGH Cancer Center can be cultured to establish cell lines for genetic analysis and drug testing. An MGH research team reports that the cultured cells accurately reflect a tumor's genetic mutation over time and changing susceptibility to therapeutic drugs. "We now can culture cells from the blood that represent those present in metastatic deposits, which allows testing for drug susceptibility as the tumor evolves and acquires new mutations," says Shyamala Maheswaran, PhD, of the MGH Cancer Center, co-senior author of the Science paper. "We need to improve culture techniques before this is ready for clinical use, and we are working on doing that right now." Read more here.