Dynamic changes in circulating tumor cell levels as a prognostic marker in stage IV non-small cell lung cancer.

8109 Background: We have previously reported the performance of our immuno-enrichment free HighEDefinition CTC (HDECTC) assay in the enumeration and characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in lung cancer patients. In the HD-CTC assay, nucleated cells are fluorescently labeled and imaged using automated microscopy. CTCs are defined as morphologically distinct, cytokeratin positive, CD45 negative cells. Here, we investigate further how...