Sensitivity of Assays Designed for the Detection of Disseminated Epithelial Tumor Cells Is Influenced by Cell Separation Methods

Abstract
The frequency of detection of disseminated tumor cells in hemopoietic specimens varies among studies (1)(2). For a reliable comparison of results, standardization of detection protocols would be desirable. In addition to concerns about techniques for detection [e.g., reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR)], the method for cell isolation may be critical (3)(4). We examined two methods for cell isolation as applied to three types of specimens before detection of tumor cells by immunocytochemistry or RT-PCR (5).