Here, we present a comprehensive transcriptome analysis of CTCs at the single-cell level, pointing to distinct cell subsets within CTC populations.
We present a detailed analysis of CTC composition and diversity in pancreatic cancer, using single-cell RNA-seq.
DTCs from this patient propagated in vitro contained a PIK3CA mutation, which was maintained despite morphological changes during 21 days of cell culture.Single cell analysis of CTCs can demonstrate genotypic heterogeneity, changes over time, and discordance from DTCs and distant metastases.
Single cell analysis of CTCs can demonstrate genotypic heterogeneity, changes over time, and discordance from DTCs and distant metastases.
However, once there is evidence of therapeutic failure or disease recurrence, single-cell analysis of CTCs may reveal more actionable information to guide drug therapy.
Single cell analysis of CTCs can reveal genotypic heterogeneity that may change over time, and can show mutational discordance with DTCs and distant metastases.
Similarly, single-cell transcriptome analysis of CTCs revealed heterogeneity in the expression of genes associated with metastasis and induction of the EMT, where epithelial cells transition to a more mesenchymal phenotype, which increases invasiveness and resistance to apoptosis [76].
Single-cell mutational analysis of CTCs has also revealed different mutations from those found in the same patient's primary and metastatic tumors; however, targeted ultra-deep sequencing revealed the presence of matching mutations at subclonal levels despite being initially missed, suggesting that only some primary or metastatic tumor cells transition into CTCs that cause tumor progression [ 4].
Recently, Paris and colleagues [ 38] reported on copy number analysis of CTCs from CRPC patients obtained via a cell adherence based enrichment method.
The Ariol® system (Genetix USA Inc, San Jose, CA, USA) was used for automated cell image capture and analysis of CTCs on glass slides.
As the molecular characterization and functional analysis of CTCs are increasingly conducted, there is an urgent need to isolate CTCs with higher efficiency, higher cell quality, and less technical demand.
