Detecting cancer cells isn’t always easy, especially when only a few tumor cells are mixed among many healthy ones. But Veridex, a Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) company, today announced a collaboration aimed at developing exactly such a blood test. With Massachusetts General Hospital and another J&J’s unit, Ortho Biotech Oncology Research & Development, Veridex will focus on developing a next-generation blood test that would capture, count and characterize tumor cells found in patients’ blood.

Circulating tumor cells (CTC) are cancer cells that have detached from the tumor and are found at extremely low levels in the bloodstream, which could mean the cancer has spread further.

via J&J Unit to Develop Blood Test to Find Cancer Cells – DailyFinance.