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Epithelial cancers shed cells into the bloodstream, often at an early stage. Theoretically, detecting those cells could identify primary tumors even when they are very small. Indeed, many laboratories are trying different approaches for achieving such a “liquid biopsy.” However, this is a classic “needle in a haystack” problem: The “signal” ― the number of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) ― is dwarfed by the “noise” ― the number of blood cells.
Investigators developed a technology for identifying circulating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. First, they identified a set of 10 mRNAs for genes expressed in HCC cells (an mRNA “signal”), and a technique (digital polymerase chain reaction) for detecting extremely low levels of that signal. They…