Researchers develop a blood test to detect melanoma

A simple blood test to detect aggressive skin cancer at an early stage. This is a "world first", say the Australian researchers behind this discovery that could save many lives.

This test could help doctors detect melanoma before it spreads in the body. "Patients whose melanoma is detected at an early stage have a five-year survival rate of between 90 and 99 percent," study director Pauline Zaenker said in a statement. If not, this rate falls to less than 50%.

Early stage melanoma detected

"This is why this blood test is so promising as a potential detection tool because can detect melanoma very early stage, when it is still treatable, "she added. Researchers tested 105 patients with primary melanoma and 104 healthy people

Ninety-seven per cent of patients were diagnosed with early stage melanoma. Currently, the diagnosis is based on a clinical examination by a doctor. In case of suspicious lesion, it is removed surgically and biopsied. The test developed by the researchers identifies the autoantibodies produced by a patient in response to cancer

Antibodies to reveal the disease

"We examined a total of 1,627 different types of antibodies to identify a combination of 10 antibodies that are the best indicators of the presence of melanoma in affected patients compared to healthy volunteers, "continued the researcher.

Sanchia Aranda, Executive Director of Cancer Council Australia, found these promising research for high-risk people who have to undergo regular dermatological screening. She pointed out that it does not detect other more common but less dangerous cancers such as basal cell carcinoma.

One in three cancers

"People need to be very aware of the potential damage to their skin from sunshine, and pay close attention to the slightest change in appearance of their pimples or moles, "she also said.

Researchers need to conduct another three-year clinical trial to validate their findings, hoping then to have a test that could be used by doctors. One in three cancers is skin cancer, according to the World Health Organization.