Abstract: The present invention comprises a method of detecting circular tumor cells and methods of detecting, evaluating, or staging cancer in a patient, as well as a method of monitoring treatment of cancer in a patient using the claimed method. The method comprises contacting a sample with a CD45 binding agent; selecting the cells based on positive or negative CD45 staining; contacting the selected cells with a labeled nucleic acid probe, and detecting hybridized cells by fluorescence in situ hybridization; and analyzing a signal produced by the labels on the hybridized cells to detect the CTCs. In other embodiments, the method provides for directed to a method of determining the level of CTCs in a sample having blood cells from a patient by contacting a sample having blood cells from a patient, wherein the sample has not been pre-sorted into CD45-positive and CD45-negative cells.

Abstract: Provided is a method of identifying a genetically abnormal cell in a sputum sample, the method comprising: (a) staining a sputum sample using a morphological stain so as to identify a lower airway tract cell or lung cell in the sputum sample; and (b) staining the sputum sample using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) so as to identify in the lower airway tract cell or lung cell a genetic abnormality in at least one of human chromosome 3p22.1 and 10q22-23, thereby identifying the genetically abnormal cell in the sputum sample. Also provided are methods and kits of diagnosing lung cancer by detecting a presence of genetically abnormal cells above a predetermined threshold in a sputum sample.