Monitoring hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis by in vivo flow cytometer

A recently developed "in vivo flow cytometer" and optical imaging are used to assess liver tumor cell spreading and the circulation kinetics of liver tumor cells. The in vivo flow cytometer has the capability to detect and quantify the number and flow characteristics of fluorescently labeled cells in vivo continuously. The depletion rate of circulating tumor cells provides insights in early cancer metastasis. It is useful to understand the molecular mechanisms of liver tumor metastasis. A real-time quantitative monitoring of circulating liver tumor cells by the in vivo flow cytometer will help assess the effectiveness of the potential therapeutic interventions.