A Better Way to Find Circulating Tumor Cells in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Share Article Institute for Systems Biology researchers and their collaborators have developed a novel method to better detect the circulating tumor cells in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer patients. The cells circulate in the bloodstream and are a telltale sign of metastases. Assistant Professor Dr. Wei Wei, left, and Bioinformatics Scientists Dr. Xiaowei Yan are pictured at Institute for Systems Biology in 2019. (Scott Eklund / Red Box Pictures) "This approach will be useful in identifying circulating tumor cells from patients with a wide variety of cancers, independent of epithelial traits.” – Wei Wei, PhD, ISB Assistant Professor