Melanoma blood test: why it would be a cancer game changer

Australian scientists say that in a "world first" they developed a blood test for melanoma that can detect deadly skin cancer in its infancy. A melanoma blood test would be a significant advance in the fight against cancer for a number of reasons – especially since early diagnosis of the disease is associated with a higher probability of survival.

Researchers at Edith Cowan University in Australia say that their test was accurate at about 80% to correctly diagnose people with melanoma in a small early-stage trial. The test, which detects a certain mixture of antibodies in the blood associated with people with melanoma, has been used on approximately 100 healthy people and 100 people with cancer. Eventually, scientists hope to be able to get the accuracy of the test up to 90% in subsequent trials because they are seeking regulatory approval.

Senior researcher Pauline Zaenker praised the test as a potential breakthrough for patients. "Patients whose melanoma was detected at an early stage have a five-year survival rate of between 90 and 99%," Zaenker said in a statement

. large treatment facilities such as the Moffitt Cancer Center corroborate these numbers. More than 90% of patients tend to be alive five years after their diagnosis of melanoma if they are caught in stage 1; for those whose disease is not diagnosed until stage 3, the number decreases to 60% or less.

What makes melanoma more dangerous than much more common skin cancers such as squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell cancer, is its ability to spread faster to other parts of the body unless 39, a rapid diagnosis, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). At present, melanoma is usually diagnosed by a biopsy of a mole or a suspected skin lesion – a procedure that can be expensive and potentially painful.

Cancer blood tests, also known as liquid biopsies, have long been an ambitious goal for biotechnology and diagnostic firms, including start-ups like Guardant Health and Grail.

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