A high-performance gene chip platform for detecting genetic markers from circulating tumor cells

Diagnosis of and therapy for early-stage tumors has the potential to decrease morbidity and mortality among patients with such malignancies. Although promising advances in imaging technology and other diagnostic modalities have been achieved, evidence that primary cancers begin shedding neoplastic cells into the circulation at an early stage is accumulating. Specifically, approximately 106 cells are shed daily per gram of tumor. Thus, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are a potential source for the noninvasive and early diagnosis of cancers. Several studies have indicated that a preoperative detection of micrometastases may reflect the transient shedding of tumor cells, metastatic potential, or residual disease, but that postoperative micrometastases are likely to indicate minimal residual disease. Such neoplastic cells may be present in the bloodstream in very low numbers and would be difficult to detect by conventional methods. In this article, we introduce a highly sensitive gene chip analysis method, developed from a colorimetric membrane array into a weighted enzymatic chip array, to detect the gene clusters of CTCs. This gene chip method provides a fast and accurate analysis of gene clusters, with performance that is substantially better than that of traditional biochemical examinations. The development of this gene chip solves the problem of costs and artifacts that hampers traditional detection methods, and thus marks an important milestone in the field of clinical diagnosis.