Circulating Tumor Cells (CTC) Market

Market Overview

The global circulating tumor cells (CTC) market size was valued at USD 10.7 billion in 2022. It is estimated to reach USD 25.65 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 10.2% during the forecast period (2023–2031). Advancements in chip technology and expanding applications of CTCs propel market growth.

The term "circulating tumor cells" (CTC) refers to cells that have broken away from a primary tumor and entered the circulation or lymphatic system, allowing them to circulate throughout the body. They can be found in cancer patients' peripheral blood and are expelled by solid tumors. When cancer spreads from the main tumor to other parts of the body, a process called metastasis, CTCs play a critical part. The fact that CTCs provide a non-invasive way to track the development of the disease predict the effectiveness of treatment, and determine prognosis makes them of tremendous interest in cancer research and clinical practice.

The characteristics of the tumor, such as genetic alterations, protein expression, and patterns of medication resistance, can be learned a great deal by extracting and examining CTCs. This information can benefit a targeted therapy's development and patient treatment decisions. As CTCs are uncommon and common blood cells are present in blood samples, it is difficult to isolate and detect CTCs. High sensitivity and specificity CTC capture and analysis have been made possible by several methods, including immunological approaches and microfluidic devices.

Market Dynamics

Global Circulating Tumor Cells (CTC) Market Drivers

Advancements in Chip Technology

The continued development of chip technology has benefited market expansion. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), an extremely rare cell class, are captured partly through cluster chip technology. The method of CTC isolation is laborious and highly accurate. The chip technology facilitates accurate CTC isolation but also aids in resolving issues with isolation devices created by significant corporations. The difficulties include low sensitivity, inability to catch CTCs of various shapes and sizes, high production costs, and difficulty removing collected CTCs from the devices for additional laboratory examination.

Additionally, a drawback of these devices is that the white blood cells that infect confined CTCs can be mistaken for CTCs due to their comparable size. As a result of these technological improvements, CTC research is expected to see an increase in demand for customizing preventive medication for cancer therapy. Several researchers discovered that the cluster-chip method is more effective than a microfluidic chip, which featured CTC isolation using antibodies that adhere to the unique proteins on a tumor cell's surface. Another advantage of this technology is that cluster chip has no adverse effects on CTC clusters. These elements will propel chip development for CTC isolation and revenue growth.

Expanding Applications of CTCs

CTCs are used in cancer care for early detection, risk assessment, therapeutic counseling, VVBHCASKD, and ongoing monitoring. The use of CTCs is anticipated to increase throughout the projected period due to the development of numerous tumor markers employing CTCs. Prostate cancer can be accurately and affordably monitored thanks to quantification and genomic profiling of CTCs noninvasively, and their identification can predict the prognosis for a cancer patient's survival. Precision medicine has evolved, and new drug development options have been made possible by the molecular profiling of CTCs for androgen receptor variations. The desire for customized medicine has increased due to the growing desire for early disease detection, drug safety, cost savings, patient compliance, and therapy optimization.

The huge demand for CTC detection tests is also a result of people's growing preference for companion diagnostics. More than 150 tailored medicines are based on CTCs and companion diagnostic on-label combinations in clinical development. Throughout the forecast period, the market is anticipated to be driven by increased cancer-related spending on companion diagnostics and tailored medications.

Global Circulating Tumor Cells (CTC) Market Restraint

Lower Applicability of CTCs In Rare Cancers

The limited utility of CTCs in uncommon tumors is another reason for limiting expansion. Technically speaking, CTC research is still difficult due to their rarity—only a few are found in a milliliter of peripheral blood. They are not the only uncommon blood cell and have a highly varied phenotypic characteristics. Atypical non-tumor cells, epithelial and non-epithelial non-tumor cells, endothelial cells, and other uncommon circulating cells, such as stem cells, should be separated from CTCs when they are isolated and studied because of this. The diverse category of malignant neoplasms known as sarcomas has a propensity to spread to distant organs.

However, the characterization of CTCs associated with sarcoma is still relatively limited due to the rarity of these tumors and the lack of distinct sarcoma tumor markers. A barrier to accurately detecting CTCs relevant to uncommon sarcomas is the incomplete understanding of the precise makeup of cancer stem cells and their interaction with CTCs. On the other hand, several approaches are being researched for CTC isolation, including approaches based on epithelial antigen-targeted antibodies, which are anticipated to aid in overcoming these difficulties in the next years.

Global Circulating Tumor Cells (CTC) Market Opportunities

Opportunities for Growth in Emerging Nations

There are huge opportunities for market expansion in developing nations such as India, Brazil, Turkey, Russia, South Africa, China, and South Korea in liquid biopsy. Some of these countries include South Africa, China, and South Korea. South Korea, China, and South Africa are examples of these countries. In addition to that, these countries offer a considerable number of opportunities.

Several distinct aspects can be credited with the growth of the market for liquid biopsies in emerging countries. The most important of these variables are a strengthening healthcare infrastructure, an increase in the number of people diagnosed with cancer, a sizable patient population, a growing quantity of disposable cash, and the growth of the medical tourism industry. As an immediate consequence, there is a significant number of potential growth opportunities for the market in the years to come.

Regional Analysis

Based on region, the global circulating tumor cells (CTC) market is bifurcated into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

North America Dominates the Global Market

North America is the most significant global circulating tumor cells (CTC) market shareholder and is estimated to exhibit a CAGR of 11.38% over the forecast period. The prevalence of cancer in North America is anticipated to drive the market in this region. Increased awareness and enhanced cancer treatment healthcare facilities are the market's most important drivers. Continuous technological advancements, followed by the discovery of novel antigens and biomarkers, are responsible for the predicted expansion of the CTC testing market. In addition to sophisticated facilities and extensive research, the market expansion is bolstered by additional crucial factors.

In addition, the local presence of key players and research institutions working to improve CTC testing kits, a well-defined reimbursement structure, and advancements in related technologies, such as personalized medicine, drug discovery, cancer diagnostics, and liquid biopsy, are anticipated to stimulate market growth. For example, researchers at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio have developed new liquid biopsy tests that can aid in cancer diagnosis before the advent of symptoms. Such developments are anticipated to stimulate the expansion of the North American CTC market.

Asia-Pacific is anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of 13.21% over the forecast period. The growth of the Asia Pacific CTC market is anticipated to be fueled by an increase in cancer incidence and mortality rates in the region's middle- and low-income countries due to an aging population and lifestyle changes associated with epidemiologic transition and economic development. Breast, lung, uterine cervix, lip, oral cavity, and colorectum cancer are the most prevalent malignancies in the region.

Additionally, cancer mortality and incidence rates vary substantially across Asia-Pacific subregions. According to The Cancer Atlas, eastern, southern, and southeastern Asia account for 44% of all cancer cases and 51% of all cancer fatalities worldwide. China has the greatest incidence of cancer in Asia, followed by Japan, India, South Korea, and Indonesia. The market is driven by improving developing nations' cancer.

Segmental Analysis

The global circulating tumor cells (CTC) market is bifurcated into technology, application, product, and specimen.

Based on the technology, the global circulating tumor cells (CTC) market is bifurcated into CTC detection and enrichment methods, CTC direct detection methods, and CTC analysis. 

The CTC enrichment and detection segment dominates the global market and is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 11.34% over the forecast period. Over the projected period, it is anticipated that the availability of various approaches for the enrichment of CTCs in cancer detection will have a major impact on segment growth. Centrifugal force, filtration, and other physical characteristics like size, density, deformity, and electric charges are a few of the different methods for CTC detection. Additionally, during the projected period, CTC's positive or negative enrichment based on biological characteristics is anticipated to influence market growth significantly.

For the study of diseases and the creation of specialized therapeutic strategies, the development of enriched and viable CTCs makes it possible to characterize their functional properties. A successful enrichment method improves yield, sensitivity, and selectivity, ensuring that CTCs are successfully translated into the therapeutic setting. The four main label-free enrichment techniques are immunocapture, size-based separation, density-based separation, and combination approaches. High CTC detection and enrichment technology adoption rates among research organizations may allow the commercial introduction of cutting-edge products.

Based on application, the global circulating tumor cells (CTC) market is segmented into clinical/ liquid biopsy and research. 

The research segment dominates the global market and is predicted to exhibit a CAGR of 11.96% during the forecast period. The substrate of cancer metastasis is thought to be CTCs. Counting CTCs is a powerful predictive and prognostic biomarker that may monitor the effectiveness of adjuvant therapy to spot metastases developing early and assess therapeutic responses more accurately than traditional imaging techniques. CTC enumeration is still mostly used as a research tool. CTC characterization and separation, which can offer considerable prospects in predictive testing studies, have recently come to attention.

The repetitive tissue biopsies can become costly, intrusive, and occasionally impractical. As a result, the characterization of CTCs in liquid biopsy is a desirable option to reduce cost and invasiveness. Therefore, treatment selection and more individualized treatments are aided by the genetic and molecular characterization of CTCs. Applications of CTCs in the development of customized medicine are shown in the diagram below.

Based on product, the global circulating tumor cells (CTC) market is bifurcated into kits, reagents, blood collection tubes, and devices or systems. 

The devices or systems segment owns the highest market share and is predicted to exhibit a CAGR of 12.06% over the forecast period. The devices or systems segment accounted for the largest market share due to a diverse portfolio within this category and impending advancements in microfluidics technology. The widespread use of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is attributable to the material's numerous advantages. PDMS is a cost-effective material for biological investigations due to its rapid and relatively straightforward fabrication.

Transparency, biocompatibility, semi-permeability, and low autofluorescence are additional benefits motivating its use in CTC isolation devices. The introduction of glass microchips as a solution to these obstacles and as a means of increasing mass production's technical maturity is anticipated to fuel the segment's continued expansion. Utilizing a surface profilometer to determine the uniformity of micro slits improves productivity.

Based on specimens, the global circulating tumor cells (CTC) market is divided into blood, bone marrow, and other body fluids. 

The blood segment is the most significant contributor to the market and is estimated to exhibit a CAGR of 11.26% over the forecast period. The detection of CTCs in blood samples aids in the determination of prognosis and response to systemic chemotherapy. Consequently, methods for identifying CTCs in blood samples are crucial in contemporary cancer research. In addition, the estimated largest proportion can be attributed to various products undergoing research and commercialization that require blood samples. The use of untreated whole blood samples is found to be advantageous for CTC enrichment.

Pretreatment processes and additional stages, such as lysis and centrifugation, have been observed to significantly reduce the number of CTC samples detected in the blood. Obtaining the majority of CTCs in a blood sample before interference is essential. The segment is anticipated to be driven by the development of technologies that help address the difficulty associated with CTC detection in blood samples. In addition to combining this specimen type with microfluidic technology, whole blood presents additional challenges. Membrane obstruction caused by a high concentration of blood cells reduces the applicability of whole blood samples for CTC enumeration using microfluidics.

Recent Developments

• July 2023- ExThera announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) application for ExThera’s OncoBindTM extracorporeal blood filter procedure, intended to remove Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) from the bloodstream of patients suffering from Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC), a type of pancreatic cancer that is projected to become the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths by 2030.
• September 2023- nRichDX® launched its new RUO-labeled CTC enrichment kit that uniquely isolates Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) from up to 40mL of whole blood samples to help researchers advance liquid biopsy assay research and development.