Finding 1 of 4
≥85%
sensitivity of CELLSEARCH® for EpCAM-positive CTCs
The sensitivity of the CELLSEARCH® method for detecting EpCAM-positive CTCs is ≥85%.
Visual summary · Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Moving Tumor Cells: Going Beyond Isolation and Identification
Michelle J. McNamara
- Editor approved · 13 Nov 2026
- Open access · CC BY 4.0
- August 2024
- DOI 10.17140/plmoj.2024.v5.i01.pp20-28.2214
The question
Can circulating tumor cells (CTCs) be used for clinical applications beyond isolation, enumeration, and prognostic assessment?
- Current methodologies focus on quantifying CTCs through physical, immunological, and molecular techniques.
- Most existing methods lack the capability to perform morphological evaluation.
What was done
≥85%sensitivity of CELLSEARCH® for EpCAM-positive CTCs
70%malignancy diagnosis rate from effusion cytology
- Evaluation of CTCs requires incorporating histological, immunohistochemical, and molecular characterization.
- CTCs can be assessed for specific biomarkers to determine treatment candidacy and monitor therapeutic efficacy.
Key findings
Finding 2 of 4
≥5
CTC count per 7.5 mL of blood associated with shorter survival
A CTC count of ≥5 per 7.5 mL of blood is associated with significantly shorter progression-free and overall survival.
Finding 3 of 4
70%
diagnostic yield of effusions cytology
Cytology of pleural effusions and ascitic fluid is able to diagnose malignancy in approximately 70% of cases.
Finding 4 of 4
64%
CTC detection rate in colon cancer
In metastatic disease, CELLSEARCH® detected CTCs in 64% of colon cancer cases, 66% of rectal cancer cases, and 60% of ovarian cancer cases.
Why it matters
- Morphological evaluation of CTCs in body fluids can enable primary diagnosis in cases of cancer of unknown primary.
- Cytological specimens provide a useful alternative for ancillary testing when surgical biopsies are unavailable.
How to cite
Michelle J. McNamara. Moving Tumor Cells: Going Beyond Isolation and Identification. Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. 2024;5(1):20-28. https://doi.org/10.17140/plmoj.2024.v5.i01.pp20-28.2214
- The article at doi.org (the publisher's page and PDF)
- The article on the journal's site
- The journal at the ISSN Portal (ISSN 2996-5942)
- The licence, CC BY 4.0