CellsWay is a liquid biopsy platform based on patented microfluidic technology that captures and analyzes circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood samples. This article summarizes CTC biology, the capture principle and the analysis workflow.
CTC Biology: Why Is It Hard?
Of every billion tumor cells, only a few million CTCs enter the blood per day; roughly 1–10 CTCs per mL of blood are found among millions of leukocytes. CTCs are the carriers of metastasis; their counts and phenotypes inform disease course and treatment response. This rarity, however, turns detection into a "rare-event analysis" problem.
Microfluidic Capture Principle
- Patented microfluidic chip: blood is run through dedicated flow channels on the chip; CTCs are separated from leukocytes based on size, deformability and surface properties.
- High recovery: a broader spectrum of CTC phenotypes (including EpCAM-low, EMT-converted cells) can be captured compared with target-antigen-dependent capture.
- Viable cells: captured cells remain viable; advanced characterization or culture can be applied where needed.
Analysis Workflow
- Blood draw: a single tube of venous blood; no fasting required, can be drawn by the home nurse service.
- Sample acceptance: stability conditions are observed during transport (see the Sample Preparation guide).
- Capture and staining: CTC isolation on the microfluidic chip, followed by phenotyping with a multicolor flow cytometry panel.
- Report: CTC count and — where requested — the phenotype profile via characterization panels; delivered to the physician as a pathology report.
Advantages and Limits
- Non-invasive, repeatable measurement from a single blood tube; serial monitoring throughout treatment.
- The panels are for research use only (RUO); they cannot guide diagnosis or treatment — see Clinical Monitoring and RUO Boundaries.
- Not applied in hematological cancers (blood cancers).
Rx-only — test di screening con prescrizione. Galleri® non è un test diagnostico. Un risultato positivo non significa una diagnosi di cancro; un risultato negativo non esclude il cancro. Il test non sostituisce gli screening periodici del cancro raccomandati dal suo medico. Galleri® non rileva tutti i tipi di cancro.