The world's first melanoma blood test detects the early stages of deadly skin cancer | Society

Australian scientists developed the first blood test in the world to detect melanoma in its early stages.

The first test trials involving 209 people showed that he was able to detect early melanoma in 81.5% of cases

. The next step for scientists at Edith Cowan University is to conduct clinical trials to validate their findings, with the hope that the test could be marketed in three to five years.

Professor Mel Ziman, head of the Melanoma Research Group's university, said the test has the potential to save thousands of lives.

It may help provide a more accurate diagnosis of melanoma at an early stage, which can be difficult to detect with the human eye, especially if it is small

. The test could also benefit people living in rural areas where it is difficult to get a dermatologist.

"It is essential that melanoma be diagnosed more accurately and earlier," Ziman said. "So a blood test would help this identification especially at the early stage of melanoma, which is the most worrisome and would be most beneficial for everyone if it was identified early."

Melanoma is the fourth most common cancer in Australia and claims the lives of about 1,500 people each year. Approximately 14,000 cases were diagnosed in 2017.

Doctors currently rely on checking a patient's skin to see any changes in existing moles or spots before making a diagnosis

. body in response to melanoma.

Ziman says the next step is to improve test sensitivity, conduct in-depth clinical trials, and test results against suspected melanoma biopsies.

need to come on board to make the test commercially available around the world.

The blood test was cautiously welcomed by health experts. The director general of Cancer Council Australia, Sanchia Aranda, said that if it was an interesting development, Australians should continue to check their skin.

"It's important that all Australians monitor their skin and see their doctor right away." Rodney Sinclair, professor of dermatology at the University of Melbourne, said the test was still not 100 accurate. %

"The false positive and false negative rates of this test mean that the results should be interpreted with caution and, if possible, combined with a complete skin check by a dermatologist," he said.