# Shanghai Jiao Tong team tests blood filter for tumour cells in mice with breast cancer

- Published: 2026-11-09 11:04 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Medicine
- Tags: circulating tumour cells, blood purifier, black hole system, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, EpCAM antibodies, microfluidic reservoir, breast cancer in mice, Microsystems & Nanoengineering
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-50e5c9416abbd500f6aafc7d_shanghai_jiao_tong/

**A microfluidic device captured circulating tumour cells; combined with chemotherapy, 50% of mice survived four weeks versus 20% for either method alone.**

![Shanghai Jiao Tong team tests blood filter for tumour cells in mice with breast cancer](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/1469759828b992df.webp)
*ua.news*

A team led by Shanghai Jiao Tong University has developed a system that removes circulating tumour cells from blood, ua.news reports, citing South China Morning Post. In tests on mice with breast cancer, the device combined with chemotherapy delayed tumour recurrence and prolonged the animals' survival [1]. The work is at the animal stage.

## How the system works

The researchers call the platform a "black hole system". A pump draws blood from the left carotid artery, passes it through an external microfluidic reservoir and returns it to the body through the right jugular vein [1]. In the reservoir, tumour cells are captured by antibodies targeting the EpCAM protein, which is common on the surface of cancer cells but absent from normal blood components [1].

In a laboratory experiment, the system captured more than 99% of human breast cancer cells introduced into the reservoir at a low flow rate. At 1.2 ml per hour, the capture efficiency was about 95% [1]. The team also tested the approach on lung and prostate cancer cell lines that express EpCAM.

## Results in mice and limits

After surgical removal of the tumours, the mice were divided into four groups: no additional therapy, chemotherapy only, blood purification only, and both methods. During four weeks of observation, 50% of the animals that received the combined treatment survived [1]. In each single-therapy group, 20% of mice survived until day 28, while all animals without postoperative treatment died [1].

The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Microsystems & Nanoengineering. The authors stress that the work is primarily a proof of concept. Before clinical use, the system needs to be scaled up for larger blood volumes, the possibility of repeated procedures needs to be tested, and long-term safety needs to be assessed. The team is also working to extend the experiments to larger rat models.

## Sources

1. [ua.news](https://ua.news/en/dovkolo-svitu/kitaiski-naukovtsi-protestuvali-ochishchuvach-krovi-vid-pukhlinnikh-klitin-south-china-morning-post)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-50e5c9416abbd500f6aafc7d_shanghai_jiao_tong/