Sound waves separate circulating tumour cells for accurate liquid biopsies

Researchers have used sound waves to separate circulating tumour cells from blood samples quickly and efficiently, a development that could lead to more accurate liquid biopsies.

CTCs are small pieces of a tumour that break away and flow through the bloodstream. They contain information such as tumour type, physical characteristics and genetic mutations.

The ability to quickly and efficiently harvest and grow these cells from a blood sample would enable liquid biopsies capable of providing robust diagnosis, prognosis and suggestions for treatment strategies based on individual CTC profiling.

Catching CTCs is difficult as there are typically only a handful for every few billion blood cells running through a patient's veins. Technologies that separate tumour cells from normal blood cells already exist but they tend to damage or kill the cells in the process, lack efficiency, only work on specific types of cancer, or take too long to be used in many situations.