{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,25]],"date-time":"2026-02-25T14:26:49Z","timestamp":1772029609559,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":93,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,3]],"date-time":"2021-09-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1630627200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cancers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>HER2 is a prognostic and predictive biomarker in breast cancer, normally assessed in tumour biopsy and used to guide treatment choices. Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) escape the primary tumour and enter the bloodstream, exhibiting great metastatic potential and representing a real-time snapshot of the tumour burden. Liquid biopsy offers the unique opportunity for low invasive sampling in cancer patients and holds the potential to provide valuable information for the clinical management of cancer patients. This study assesses the performance of the RUBYchip\u2122, a microfluidic system for CTC capture based on cell size and deformability, and compares it with the only FDA-approved technology for CTC enumeration, CellSearch\u00ae. After optimising device performance, 30 whole blood samples from metastatic breast cancer patients were processed with both technologies. The expression of HER2 was assessed in isolated CTCs and compared to tissue biopsy. Results show that the RUBYchipTM was able to isolate CTCs with higher efficiency than CellSearch\u00ae, up to 10 times more, averaging all samples. An accurate evaluation of different CTC subpopulations, including HER2+ CTCs, was provided. Liquid biopsy through the use of the RUBYchipTM in the clinic can overcome the limitations of histological testing and evaluate HER2 status in patients in real-time, helping to tailor treatment during disease evolution.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cancers13174446","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,6]],"date-time":"2021-09-06T10:59:12Z","timestamp":1630925952000},"page":"4446","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":40,"title":["HER2 Expression in Circulating Tumour Cells Isolated from Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients Using a Size-Based Microfluidic Device"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Cl\u00e1udia","family":"Lopes","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Avenida Mestre Jos\u00e9 Veiga s\/n, 4715-330 Braga, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Paulina","family":"Piairo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Avenida Mestre Jos\u00e9 Veiga s\/n, 4715-330 Braga, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5788-4316","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexandre","family":"Ch\u00edcharo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Avenida Mestre Jos\u00e9 Veiga s\/n, 4715-330 Braga, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5615-594X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sara","family":"Abalde-Cela","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Avenida Mestre Jos\u00e9 Veiga s\/n, 4715-330 Braga, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1217-2523","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Liliana R.","family":"Pires","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"RUBYnanomed Lda, Pra\u00e7a Conde de Agrolongo 123, 4700-312 Braga, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Patr\u00edcia","family":"Corredeira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Medicina Molecular Jo\u00e3o Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Av Prof. Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Patr\u00edcia","family":"Alves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Medicina Molecular Jo\u00e3o Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Av Prof. Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7456-7531","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laura","family":"Muinelo-Romay","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Liquid Biopsy Analysis Unit, Oncomet, Health Research Institute of Santiago (IDIS), Complejo Hospitalario de Santiago de Compostela, Trav. Choupana s\/n, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain"},{"name":"CIBERONC, Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n Biom\u00e9dica en Red C\u00e1ncer, Calle de Melchor Fern\u00e1ndez Almagro, 3, 28029 Madrid, Spain"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4782-7318","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lu\u00eds","family":"Costa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Medicina Molecular Jo\u00e3o Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Av Prof. Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"Oncology Division, Hospital de Santa Maria, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte, Av Prof. Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3695-6963","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lorena","family":"Di\u00e9guez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Avenida Mestre Jos\u00e9 Veiga s\/n, 4715-330 Braga, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4263","DOI":"10.1007\/s13277-016-4856-x","article-title":"A headlight on liquid biopsies: A challenging tool for breast cancer management","volume":"37","author":"Massihnia","year":"2016","journal-title":"Tumor Biol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2","DOI":"10.31768\/2312-8852.2017.39(1):2-11","article-title":"Circulating tumor cells in breast cancer: Functional heterogeneity, pathogenetic and clinical aspects","volume":"39","author":"Cherdyntseva","year":"2017","journal-title":"Exp. 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