Benchmarking microfluidic and immunomagnetic platforms for isolating circulating tumor cells in pancreatic cancer

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the US., with poor prognosis due to late-stage diagnosis and high recurrence rates following surgery. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are thought to contribute to post-surgical metastasis, while circulating epithelial cells (CECs) have been detected in up to 33% of patients with premalignant pancreatic cysts, offering a potential window for early intervention. Despite their promise as prognostic biomarkers, the clinical utility of CTCs and CECs in pancreatic cancer remains underexplored. Microfluidic technologies offer label-free isolation of rare cells, but few have been benchmarked against clinically validated systems. In this study, we conducted a direct comparison of our inertial microfluidic system with a widely used immunomagnetic negative selection platform (EasySep™). Using matched experimental conditions, we quantified target cell recovery and enrichment to evaluate performance. The inertial microfluidic system demonstrated higher recovery and enrichment, particularly at low cell concentrations, compared to EasySep™, supporting its potential for clinical translation. These findings highlight the advantages of label-free microfluidic isolation and its promise for early detection, prognostic assessment, and therapeutic monitoring in pancreatic cancer.