Dr. Liu Describes the CellSearch CTC Test

Minetta Liu, MD, Breast Cancer Specialist, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, describes the CellSearch CTC Test in patients with breast cancer.

The CellSearch Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) Test is the only technology cleared by the FDA. In order to be cleared by the FDA, Liu says, the CellSearch test met metrics for being reproducible and user-friendly.

From a single tube of the patient's blood, the number of CTCs are counted in an automated and reproducible way. The number of CTCs can be anywhere from zero to tens or hundreds of thousands, Liu says, though the absolute number is not what matters. Patients with fewer than five CTCs have a favorable prognosis, while greater than or equal to five is unfavorable. The CellSearch test allows for an assessment of patient prognosis and is predictive of progression-free survival and overall survival.