Applications of RNA from circulating tumor cells.

Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) are shed into the bloodstream from both primary and secondary tumours and provide a non-invasive means to study tumor progression and response to treatment. Assessment of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and monitoring dynamic changes in gene expression profiles of CTCs extends their clinical and prognostic power and establish their role in guiding treatment. Among these methods, droplet digital (RT-ddPCR) technique provides a high sensitivity and detectibility of CTCs. RNA-sequencing (RNAseq) is the most comprehensive method, that would allow the simultaneous measurement of a large number of genes and theoretically the whole transcriptome. Since CTCs are heterogeneous in nature, single cell RNAseq methods are very valuable in assessing population dynamics and functional states of CTCs. While RNA