The Melanoma Blood Test Could Save Lives by Detecting Cancer Cells Before They Spread

Published

July 18, 2018 05:04:35

Screening for melanoma with a blood sample could save hundreds of lives each year by detecting cancer cells in the body before they spread.

Currently, the most effective way to detect a melanoma is to examine the skin and make a biopsy. A blood test could detect cancer much earlier – allowing earlier treatment and better chances of survival.

Professor Mel Zimon of Edith Cowan University stated that the blood test could detect autoantibodies.

"It is important to quickly detect a melanoma and the blood test we have developed is able to do so," she said

"We detected melanomas less than 1 millimeter deep, which was fantastic. "

In tests on 105 melanoma patients and 104 healthy people, the test was accurate in detecting cancer in nearly 80 percent of people.

Researchers now hope to take blood from 1,000 people suspected of melanoma

Australia and New Zealand have the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, with an average survival time of 6 to 12 months in people with advanced melanoma

. Clinton Heal, such a blood test could have had a dramatic impact on his health

When he was 22, he thought the ball in his neck was a football injury

"When the doctors asked me," when did Do you do your last checks? – I said "never," "he said.

Doctors told him that he had multiple secondary melanomas and that he needed chemotherapy and surgery

"I was shocked 19659008] Mr. Heal is now in his thirties and after years of treatment he is cancer free He has devoted his life to helping others with melanoma.

The blood test & # 39; must be combined with cutaneous control "

Rodney Sinclair, Professor of Dermatology at the University of Melbourne, said:"

"The test can detect melanoma in 79% of those affected but the lack in 21 % of cases, "he said.

" These rates mean that the results should be interpreted with caution. "

The researchers said that even if the blood test was positive, patients would still need of a biopsy to see how advanced the cancer was.

The do research paper was published in the journal Oncotarget

Topics:

skin cancer,

diseases and disorders,

health,

medical research,

Australia,

perth-6000