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Australian researchers have developed an experimental blood test. This is the first blood test that can detect melanoma – an aggressive form of skin cancer – at an early stage. The test could speed up the diagnostic process and save thousands of lives.
Researchers at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia, badyzed blood samples for antibodies typically created by the immune system in response to melanoma.
Antibodies "are easily accessible in the blood, which provides a fantastic test for identifying cancer at an early stage," said Professor Mel Ziman, head of the Melanoma Research Project at the University . The group Monday
In the study, published Tuesday in the journal Oncotarget, Ziman's team examined 245 blood samples from melanoma patients and healthy volunteers. The researchers were able to identify people with melanoma with an accuracy of 79% and people without melanoma with an accuracy of 84%.
"For clinicians to be able to evaluate them, we will have to be 90% accurate," he said. "So we are doing a clinical trial with 1000 participants to refine our test to get to this point."
If other trials are successful, Ziman believes that the test could be distributed internationally until five years.
A positive result would still require a biopsy to confirm the blood test and determine until the cancer has developed, Ziman said.
Several groups around the world are working to develop blood tests that detect a range of cancers. A recent study has shown a promising test to detect tumors of the ovary, liver, stomach, pancreas, esophagus, colorectum, lung and bad, while Another study detected 10 cancers, of which 90% for ovarian cancer.
"In the wrong place with the wrong skin color"
Melanoma cancers are dangerous, abnormal growths on the surface of the skin caused by sun damage, which can spread throughout the body. They accounted for about 1.6% of all cancer diagnoses in the world in 2012. The World Health Organization estimates that 132,000 melanoma skin cancers occur in the world each year.
The problem is particularly acute in Australia, where melanomas were the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer in 2017 and cause about 1,700 deaths a year, according to the university.
This is largely due to the high levels of UV exposure caused by the region's proximity to the ozone hole over Antarctica.
"We are in the wrong place with the wrong skin color, we have had a lot of migrants from European countries, so they have fair skin … and we have a very intense sun here," Ziman said. .
If detected early, skin cancers have a 95% survival rate, according to the research team, but it drops to 50% if diagnosed late.
Surgery to eliminate growth is the most common form of treatment.
Simpler detection
Ziman said current methods The detection of melanoma is expensive and invasive, involving a trip to a clinician, who must biopsy the lesion to find out if it is cancerous.
For potential patients in remote areas, far from skin specialists, the diagnosis can be particularly delicate. do a simple blood test an easy alternative to identify people at risk.
In three years, the research team has identified a combination of 10 types of antibodies that best signal the presence of melanoma.
Antibodies are products of the body's immune system, created to fight not only bacte ria and viruses, but abnormal cancer cells, said Ziman
. Jodie Moffat, head of early diagnosis at Cancer Research UK, acknowledged that a test that found melanoma earlier could help reduce deaths from the disease, adding that "melanoma can be deeper than skin and more difficult to treat
However, she pointed out the fact that this new test did not undergo clinical trials.
"We need to know if it's right, if it can save lives and how it could work in So, even though a blood test to find a skin cancer is certainly exciting, research in this area still has some obstacles to overcome, "she said, for their skin," said Moffat. In turn, people should talk to a health professional about any "unusual or lasting change from a mole, freckle or normal skin patch".
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