They used the Parsortix system to isolate circulating tumour cells from blood samples taken from patients with metastatic triple‑negative breast cancer and advanced epithelial ovarian cancer. The researchers showed that clinically relevant antibody‑drug conjugate targets could be detected on Parsortix‑enriched circulating tumour cells. Key findings included detection of TROP‑2, the target of the approved antibody‑drug conjugate sacituzumab govitecan, on circulating tumour cells from triple‑negative breast cancer patients. A key result was the detection of antibody‑drug conjugate targets on circulating tumour cells with low EpCAM expression. Circulating tumour cells in these cancers may show reduced EpCAM expression or mesenchymal‑like features linked to epithelial‑to‑mesenchymal transition.