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The rapid expansion in the use of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) as a diagnostic tool and a biomarker will provide a much needed tool in the treatment of cancer. The use of CTCs provides a non-invasive means of gaining early insight into tumor detection and metastasis, and has become an indispensable tool for patient management and oncology drug development. This conference dedicated to CTCs will cover a range of aspects concerning CTCs’ origin, biology, characterization, enumeration and subsequent analysis. The conference will also highlight approaches to technology development that include the use of microfluidics for cell enumeration, and case studies on the clinical use of CTCs for guiding the selection of therapy and monitoring response. This meeting will bring you up to date on the state-of-the-art tools and what is needed to make these technologies robust and ready for use by the clinical community.
RECOMMENDED SHORT COURSES:
Tuesday, February 21
7:00 am Registration
Sponsored by
9:40 Grand Opening Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
CTCS IN THE CLINIC
11:00 Chairperson’s Opening Remarks
Massimo Cristofanilli, M.D., F.A.C.P., Professor and Chairman
KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS
11:10 The Prognostic and Predictive Value of Enumeration and Molecular Characterization
Massimo Cristofanilli, M.D., F.A.C.P., Professor and Chairman, Department of Medical Oncology, G. Morris Dorrance Jr. Endowed Chair in Medical Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are isolated tumor cells disseminated from the site of disease of metastatic and/or primary cancers, including breast cancer that can be identified and measured in the peripheral blood of patients. The presentation will review the clinical value of enumeration and introduce the most recent advancements in defining the molecular phenotype of CTCs and integrate this information for the prognosis and monitoring of response to therapy, and introduce their utility in pharmacodynamic monitoring.
11:40 Circulating Tumor Cells as Potential Biomarker for Metastatic Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials for Predicting Benefit and Monitoring Patients
Howard Scher, M.D., Chief, Genitourinary Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
12:10 pm Clinical Significance of Circulating Tumor Cells in Breast Cancer
Minetta C. Liu, M.D., Associate Professor, Medical and Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Hospital
Prospective clinical trials demonstrate that the enumeration of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) has clinical utility when used in conjunction with radiographic imaging and clinical evaluations in the setting of metastatic breast cancer. Further technologic advances are needed in order to increase the detection threshold of CTCs and allow for further phenotypic and genotypic characterization of the collected cells.
Sponsored by
12:40 Molecular Analysis of Circulating Tumor Cells Using the IsoFlux SystemCarolyn Conant, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Fluxion BiosciencesThis presentation will discuss required attributes of CTC samples for downstream molecular diagnostics. The IsoFlux System is a novel platform that provides access to CTCs with high recovery, high purity, and low liquid volume. Clinical and analytical data will be shown that identifies sensitivity limits for genetic analyses using PCR and FISH approaches.
12:55 Sponsored Presentation (Opportunity Available)
1:10 Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available) or Lunch on Your Own
1:45 Dessert in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing
NOVEL APPROACHES FOR CTC ANALYSIS
2:15 Chairperson’s Remarks
Steven A. Soper, Ph.D., William H. Pryor Emeritus Professor, Biomedical Engineering and Chemistry; Director, Center for Biomodular System, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and WCU Scholar, UNIST, S. Korea
2:20 Collection, Manipulation and Molecular Profiling of Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) Using Microfluidics
Steven A. Soper, Ph.D., William H. Pryor Emeritus Professor, Biomedical Engineering and Chemistry; Director, Center for Biomodular System, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and WCU Scholar, UNIST, S. Korea
In this presentation, we will discuss the design, fabrication and implementation of a polymer-based modular microfluidic system that can recover with high efficiency CTCs from whole blood using an input volume of 7.5 mL, release the CTCs and then manipulate the CTCs into a containment reservoir using electrokinetics. The CTCs can then be imaged for enumeration and subsequently genotyped at the single-cell level.
2:50 Isolation and Genotyping of Circulating Tumor Cells in a Miniaturized System
Chengxun Liu, Ph.D., Senior Researcher, Functional Nanosystems Group, imec
We present a system which integrates immunomagnetic isolation and genotyping for circulating tumor cells. The cell isolation module is featured by cell counting using a microelectronic sensor. For genotyping, 20 specific genetic markers were reversely transcripted, amplified by multiplex ligation probe amplification and electrochemically detected in an automated miniaturized system.
3:20 Multi-Orifice Flow Fractionation (MOFF) for the Isolation and Characterization of Circulating Tumor Cells
Hyo-Il Jung, Ph.D. (Cantab), Associate Professor, School of Mechanical Engineering, Yonsei University
This talk will present a new microfluidic method for isolating circulating tumor cells (CTCs) through the combined use of inertial lift forces and turbulent secondary flows generated in a topographically patterned microchannel (MOFF, multi-orifice flow fractionation).
3:50 A Workflow for Single-Cell Resolution, Automated, Image-Based Sorting of Pure Circulating Tumor Cells and Their Comprehensive Molecular Characterization
Nicolò Manaresi, Ph.D., CTO, Silicon Biosystems S.p.A.Some of the key challenges to unlock the potential of Circulating Tumor Cells (CTC) in personalized therapy and translational research are related to the low level of purity provided by enrichment techniques, and the small number of CTCs available. We demonstrate a methodology addressing these challenges, based on the DEPArray™ system to sort multiple individual 100%-pure CTCs, followed by their molecular analysis.
Sponsored by
4:05 CTCscope: A Novel Platform for Detection and Characterization of CTCs using Multiplex RNA in situ HybridizationYuling Luo, Ph.D., Advanced Cell Diagnostics, Inc.
4:20 Reception in the Exhibit Hall (Sponsorship Available)
5:20 Breakout Discussions in the Exhibit Hall
Concurrent problem solving breakout discussions, open to all attendees, speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors, provide a forum for discussing key issues and meeting potential collaborators. Plan to take part and explore these topics in-depth. Please pick a topic of your choice, find your table and join in.
Innovative Techniques for Characterization of CTCs
Moderator: John F. Zhong, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Pathology; Director, Bioinformatics, Gene Therapy Laboratories, University of Southern California School of Medicine
Which cell is a CTC
Define CTC with biomarker, DNA mutation or transcriptome
Heterogeneity of CTC population
Dynamic changes of CTC population for treatment evaluation
Challenge of CTC molecular analysis
CTCs: Value for Diagnostics, Therapeutics, and Cancer Personalized Medicine
Moderator: Enal Razvi, Ph.D., Biotechnology Analyst
CTCs in various cancer types, their origin, and role in metastasis
CTC isolation and characterization tools & technologies
CTCs in cancer personalized medicine: diagnostic and therapeutic optimization
Emerging trends and themes in the CTCs marketplace
Commercializing CTC technologies
Moderator: John A. Viator, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Biological Engineering and Dermatology, University of Missouri
Characterization of CTCs
Moderator: Yvon E. Cayre, M.D., D.Sci., Professor, Pierre and Marie Curie University; CSO, ScreenCell
“Lost in Translation” – How to Turn Candidate Biomarkers into Validated Diagnostic Tests?
Moderator: Yuling Luo, Ph.D., Founder, President & CEO, Advanced Cell Diagnostics, Inc.
What are the current and new ways to validate biomarkers?
What are the main issues in analytical and clinical validation of biomarker assays?
What are the issues with various sample sources (e.g. blood, tissue) for biomarker analysis?
What is the impact of cellular and tissue context on biomarker analysis and clinical utility?
What is the impact of quantitation on biomarker analysis and clinical utility?
How simple and robust should a clinical diagnostic test be?
6:20 Close of Day
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