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Tracy Hampton, PhD

JAMA. 2008;299(8):889.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Tumors shed cells into the blood of patients with cancer, but researchers have long sought a reliable way to detect these rare cells. Now, however, investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston report successful tests with a unique microchip-based device that can efficiently and selectively separate circulating tumor cells from peripheral blood samples (Nagrath S et al. Nature. 2007;450[7173]:1235-1239).

Researchers have developed a microchip-based device that can detect and separate circulating tumor cells from peripheral blood samples. (Photo credit: Sunitha Nagrath, PhD/Massachusetts General Hospital)

The technology has been used to identify these cells in the blood of patients with various types of metastatic cancer and to effectively monitor individuals' responses to therapy. Ultimately, the inventors hope, the device will someday enable physicians to characterize and monitor cancer status in patients in a noninvasive way. While the presence of circulating cancer cells seems to correlate with prognosis . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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