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Abstract

The invention relates to a method for the detection and/or characterization of circulating tumour cells, in a biological sample from a patient suffering from solid cancer, which can release or secrete in vitro one or more tumour markers. The inventive method consists in: (i) depositing a known quantity of the aforementioned cells at the bottom of a culture surface to which at least one specific binding partner of the tumour marker(s) is fixed, (ii) cultivating said cells in conditions such that they release or secrete the aforementioned tumour markers which are immunocaptured at the bottom of the culture surface, (iii) eliminating the cells by washing, (iv) adding at least one specific labelled conjugate of said tumour markers, and (v) viewing the lablelling thus obtained. The invention also relates to the used of the inventive method in the early diagnosis and prognosis of the pathology, in the selection and evaluation of the effectiveness of therapeutic treatments and in the diagnosis of relapses in relation to solid cancers. Moreover, the invention related to diagnostic kits comprising a culture surface that has been coated with one or more binding partners of the specific tumour markers of the cancer being studied and the corresponding previously-labelled conjugate(s).

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First Claim