Growing Industry in Technologies For Circulating Tumor Cells: Kalorama Report
New York, NY (PRWEB) August 20, 2013 -- A relatively new approach to cancer research and diagnosis has developed into a nearly one billion-dollar market according to Kalorama Information. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are believed to detach from primary or secondary tumors and enter the bloodstream, traveling to distant organs and forming new tumors, and the healthcare market research firm says that targeting CTCs is an increasingly important focus of cancer treatment. Kalorama Information estimated the size of the market and forecasted future opportunities in its latest report on the circulating tumor cell industry, "The Market for Circulating Tumor Cells and Cancer Stem Cells".
“Primary tumors can typically be removed effectively via surgery or chemo/radiation therapy, said Adriana Rusu, author of the report. “So now it is the development of metastasis initiated by circulating tumor cells that is the cause of cancer death and the target of treatment.”
Potential applications of CTCs-based diagnostics include: the development of non-invasive assays for early detection of cancer; the development of prognostic tools for cancer survival, prediction and monitoring of response to therapies; the discovery of new drugs for cancer; and the improvement of the drug development process and clinical trials for cancer therapies.
“While current cancer diagnostic methods involve invasive tissue biopsies, the analysis of CTCs in peripheral blood can provide an alternative non-invasive method that can also be used more frequently and less expensively to monitor the disease evolution and the patients’ response to various therapies,” Rusu said.
Despite their potential, the detection and analysis of circulating tumor cells has been a challenging endeavor, and their significance in cancer not completely understood. Progress in the field of CTC-based cancer diagnostics and therapeutics has been thus far hampered by the rarity of these cells and the difficulty to isolate them from the patient’s blood. Nonetheless, in the past decade, numerous technological advances have contributed to a renewed interest in this field.
Current CTCs detection and isolation methods rely on various physical or biological properties that distinguish these cells from other cellular components of blood. The most commonly used characteristics for CTCs detection are size, cell surface antigens, and nucleic acid markers. In the past decade, numerous technological advances have enhanced the efficiency of CTCs detection and isolation; however, due to their limitations, none of the techniques has established itself as the optimal platform, and future technological developments are still necessary.
The global market for CTC detection, isolation and analysis technologies is a heterogeneous and competitive market that is constantly driven by technological innovation and high demand for improved, non-invasive cancer diagnostic tests. Nonetheless, the clinical diagnostics market segment currently enjoys limited competition, as only two CTC-based diagnostics - Veridex’s CellSearch and AdnaGen’s AdnaTests - have been approved by regulatory agencies. Another CTC-based test, Biocept’s OncoCEE-BR, has been more recently introduced to market and is marketed as a laboratory-developed test, according to Kalorama Information. On the other hand, the research segment of the market includes numerous competitors with different capabilities, developing and commercializing products such as CTCs isolation devices and protocols, CTCs characterization reagents, assay and instrumentation, and various identification technologies based on cell imaging. These market players include specialized or research-based companies, which contribute considerably to the technological advancements in the field of CTCs technologies.
The report breaks out the market for CTCs by application, region sold and type of cancer. The report also profiles companies in the industry and specific trends and innovations. Information about the report is available at Kalorama Information’s website at http://www.kaloramainformation.com/Circulating-Tumor-Cells-7724495/ .
About Kalorama Information
Kalorama Information, a division of MarketResearch.com, supplies the latest in independent medical market research in diagnostics, biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare; as well as a full range of custom research services. We routinely assist the media with healthcare topics. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and our blog.
Bruce Carlson, Kalorama Information, http://www.kaloramainformation.com/Circulating-Tumor-Cells-7724495/, (212) 807-2622, [email protected]
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