Tomographic flow cytometry as the key-enabling technology for label-free liquid biopsy

Liquid biopsy (LB) is a promising oncological tool that aims to the early diagnosis of tumors and to improve the therapeutical efficacy by following patient treatment. It is based on the detection and analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) released into the bloodstream from primary or metastatic tumors. However, a reliable label-free LB tool has not yet been developed. Therefore, here we discuss the advantages derived from combining microfluidics and label-free quantitative imaging, to access the full three-dimensional (3D) information of a biological specimen by performing the tomographic reconstruction at single-cell level in high throughput modality. Experimental results on some CTCs are reported.