Grant: Collaborative Health Research Projects (NSERC partnered)

The vast majority of cancer deaths are caused by metastasis, or the spread of cancer from one part of the body to another. In order for cancer to spread, cells known as circulating tumor cells, must detach from a tumor, circulate in the bloodstream, and reattach to a different tissue. Therefore, circulating tumor cells are considered to be the agents of metastasis that could potentially be used to evaluate the genetic basis of each patient's cancer and how they might respond to potential treatments. Genetic analysis of circulating tumor cells is currently limited by the extreme rarity of these cells in the bloodstream, as well as by the differences across individual cells. This project aims to address this challenge by developing a technology to rapidly isolate individual circulating tumor cells for genome sequencing. We will then test this technology by isolating and sequencing single circulating tumor cells from patients with advanced prostate cancer who are currently enrolled in related clinical studies. The genome sequence from single circulating tumor cells will then be compared with other available data in order to determine its value in diagnosis and treatment. Genome sequencing is already being used in some cancers to predict how patients will respond to certain drugs. This project will develop a technology to isolate and sequence cells that are most relevant to metastasis, which will give physicians significantly better information to evaluate each patient's disease in order to devise a personalized treatment plan.