Monitoring circulating cancer cells by multichannel in vivo flow cytometry

We report a new approach for potential monitoring of tumor burden in experimental animals using multichannel in vivo flow cytometry, a novel optical technique that enables the realtime, continuous detection and quantification of fluorescently labeled cells in the circulation without the need for blood extraction. The ability to non-invasively track circulating cells in real time and in their native environment, opens up enormous possibilities for new investigations into the mechanisms that govern the complex trafficking and tissue interactions of these cells in a wide range of clinical and biological fields such as cancer, stem cell biology and immunology. We have developed the in vivo flow cytometer in order to track circulating cancer cells in a mouse model and provide a new, non-invasive method for the monitoring of cancer disease progression as well as the response to therapeutic intervention.