MechSE Distinguished Seminar: Bioengineering and Clinical Applications of Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) Chip
- Sponsor
- Mechanical Science and Engineering
- Speaker
- Professor Mehmet Toner, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
- Contact
- Amy Rumsey
- rumsey@illinois.edu
- Phone
- 217-300-4310
- Views
- 9
- Originating Calendar
- MechSE Seminars
Abstract
Viable tumor-derived circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can be detected in the peripheral blood of cancer patients, and their reliable isolation offers a minimally invasive means to interrogate tumor biology, enabling real-time monitoring of treatment response and evolving tumor genotypes over the course of therapy. We previously demonstrated the feasibility of capturing rare CTCs from up to 20 mL of peripheral blood using various microfluidic platforms under precisely controlled flow conditions. Application of this approach to blood samples from patients with metastatic lung, prostate, breast, colon, and pancreatic cancers demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity for CTC isolation. In longitudinal studies, changes in CTC counts closely tracked clinical disease course as assessed by standard radiographic methods. Moreover, isolated CTCs enabled molecular profiling, including detection of activating EGFR mutations and the resistance-associated T790M mutation in patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Despite these advances, a major barrier to the broader clinical adoption of CTC-based liquid biopsy remains the extremely small number of CTCs obtained from standard 10–20 mL blood draws. To address this limitation, we have recently shifted from routine blood sampling to clinical leukapheresis-based approaches that enable interrogation of very large blood volumes, including a substantial fraction of the total circulating blood volume. By processing liters rather than milliliters of blood, leukapheresis substantially increases CTC yield, making it feasible to recover sufficient tumor cells for comprehensive molecular and cellular analyses. This presentation will highlight our recent studies exploring the potential of large-volume liquid biopsy for more definitive cancer diagnosis and characterization.
About the Speaker
Dr. Toner received his BS degree from Istanbul Technical University and his MS degree from the MIT, both in Mechanical Engineering. He subsequently earned his PhD in Medical Engineering from the Harvard–MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.
Dr. Mehmet Toner is the Helen Andrus Benedict Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Mass General Brigham, Harvard Medical School, and the Harvard–MIT Health Sciences and Technology. He serves as Director of Research at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Boston and is Co-Director of the Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgery.
Dr. Toner is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Society for Cryobiology. He has received the H.R. Lissner Medal in Bioengineering and the Savio–Woo Award in Biomechanics from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, as well as the Luyet Medal from the Society for Cryobiology. He has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Inventors, and the National Academy of Medicine.
His research focuses on microfluidics; nano- and microtechnologies; tissue engineering and regenerative medicine; and cryobiology. Dr. Toner is also a co-founder of multiple biotechnology and medical device start-up companies.
Host: Professor Bumsoo Han