CELL CULTURE ISOLATION AND EXPANSION OF CIRCULATING TUMOR CELLS (CTC) FROM CANCER PATIENTS OR ANIMALS TO DERIVE PROGNOSTIC AND PREDICTIVE INFORMATION AND TO PROVIDE A SUBSTRATE FOR SUBSEQUENT GENETIC, METABOLIC, IMMUNOLOGIC, AND OTHER CELLULAR CHARACTERIZATIONS.

摘要

Cell culture isolation and expansion of CTC from cancer patients to derive prognostic and predictive information and provide a substrate for subsequent genetic, metabolic, immunologic and other cellular characterizations. This method isolates and extracts CTC from a blood sample to grow cancer cell colonies for a long-term tumor repository, tumor biology and pharmacogenomics research. Following removal of small numbers of contaminating host cells, this method will assist with detection of single nucleotide changes in cancer cells to direct treatment, provide global screening for mutations in oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes, and provide a minimally invasive biopsy technique that may allow reassessment of tumors after treatment failures. This method provides an RNA expression screen at a single locus or a genomic level and allow identification of signaling pathways, provide an evaluation of key protein expression to study their metabolic pathways, and provide individual or global screened miRNA molecules.