Cancer cells in the blood can now be isolated and studied in culture, opening up the possibility of personalizing treatment strategies.
Tumours shed small amounts of cancer cells into the bloodstream, but it has been difficult to isolate and grow these cells. Shyamala Maheswaran and Daniel Haber of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and their colleagues developed an improved microfluidic system that filters out normal blood cells, leaving tumour cells unharmed….
