Abstract

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are rare cells coming from a solid tumor mass and circulating in the bloodstream of cancer patients. These cells have gained increasing attention since, they can provide diagnostic and prognosis information on cancer patients. When isolated from body fluid, CTCs can be used ex vivo for studying tumor genetic and biochemical characteristics as well as drug response. All these features make CTCs an ideal tumor biomarker (liquid biopsy). Unfortunately, the available methods for studying and isolation of CTCs have great limitations since they are not universal for all tumor types and are often destructive hampering ex vivo expansion and study. Here in, we present a combined Raman microspectroscopy (RM) and polarization sensitive digital holographic imaging (PSDHI) approach for identification of cancer cells among healthy ones. Our method exploits the Warburg effect, a cancer metabolic feature that is common to almost all type of cancer and the formation of lipid droplets. This makes our label-free and non-destructive approach virtually suitable for all type of tumors.

© 2023 The Author(s)