Journal of thoracic oncology : official publication of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer
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The link between lung cancer and chronic obstructive lung diseases (COPD) has not been well studied in women even though lung cancer and COPD account for significant and growing morbidity and mortality among women. ⋯ In women, COPD is associated with risk of lung cancer differentially by race. Untangling whether COPD is in the causal pathway or simply shares risk factors will require future studies to focus on specific COPD features, while exploring underlying genetic susceptibility to these diseases.
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Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are rare cells that originate from a malignancy and circulate freely in the peripheral blood. The ability to capture and study CTCs is an emerging field with implications for early detection, diagnosis, determining prognosis and monitoring of cancer, as well as for understanding the fundamental biology of the process of metastasis. Here, we review the development and initial clinical studies with a novel microfluidic platform for isolating these cells, the CTC-chip, and discuss its potential uses in the study of lung cancer.