# Circulating tumour cell capture

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/ctc-capture/  
OnCo record `ctc-capture` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Fishing whole cancer cells out of a blood sample to count them or study them; the count is prognostic in breast, prostate and colorectal cancer.

## Summary

Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) are rare cells shed by tumours into blood, roughly one per billion blood cells. The CellSearch system, cleared by the FDA in 2004, enriches them by EpCAM antibody capture and counts them; higher counts predict shorter survival in metastatic breast, prostate and colorectal cancer. Microfluidic and size-based methods capture EpCAM-negative cells, and single CTC sequencing and culture are used in research; CTC counts have not yet changed treatment in randomised trials.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: approved
- Last checked: 2026-09-04
- Principle: Immunomagnetic or microfluidic enrichment of cells by surface antigen, size or deformability, followed by staining and enumeration or molecular analysis.
- Since: 2004
- Strengths: Whole cells allow protein, RNA and functional study; Prognostic in several metastatic cancers; Repeatable from blood
- Limitations: Very rare cells, low yield; Antibody capture misses cells that have lost EpCAM; Changing therapy on CTC counts has not improved outcomes in trials

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circulating_tumor_cell
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circulating_tumor_cell

## Connected records

- cancers: [Colorectal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/colorectal/), [HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-hr-positive/), [Prostate cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/prostate/)
- fronts: [Diagnostics & Biomarkers](https://onco.cc/fronts/diagnostics/), [Early Detection & Screening](https://onco.cc/fronts/early-detection/)
- technologies: [Liquid biopsy (ctDNA)](https://onco.cc/technologies/liquid-biopsy/)

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