MELANOMA A METASTATIC SKIN CANCER CAN BE EARLY DETECTED BY BLOOD TEST

MELANOMA A METASTATIC SKIN CANCER CAN BE EARLY DETECTED BY BLOOD TEST 

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Melanoma,the deadliest form of skin cancer if detected early and that too by a blood test than it will save many lives.According to a new study published this week, an experimental blood test can potentially find melanoma skin cancers long before dermatologist can visually detect them.Typically, melanomas are diagnosed after a patient or dermatologist notices a suspicious spot during a regular skin check. When caught early, they're easily treated. "The estimated five-year survival rate for patients whose melanoma is detected early is about 99 percent in the U.S.But the longer a melanoma goes undiscovered, the more dangerous it becomes. "The survival rate falls to 63 percent when the disease reaches the lymph nodes and 20 percent when the disease metastasizes to distant organs," Street says. In 2018, the Skin Cancer Foundation estimates that over 91,000 cases of melanoma will be diagnosed after they’ve already become invasive, Street says.

                 In a study published this week in the journal *Oncotarget*, researchers used a simple blood test to screen for signs of melanoma. The blood test accurately detected the disease 81 percent of the time."The test detects a particular combination of 10 autoantibodies in the blood of people with melanoma skin cancer," Pauline Zaenker, lead author on the study.Body produces these antibodies at the "earliest disease stage," she explains. "For the first time, we have shown that autoantibodies are detectable in the blood of patients with melanoma tumors less than one millimeter in thickness," Zaenker says.

            The blood test could totally change the way we approach skin checks. According to the experts, it could be particularly valuable for people who have dozens of moles that can be hard to keep an eye on, Zaenker says, and for those with a family history of skin cancer."It could also allow non-dermatologists to screen for these cancers and then refer the patient to a dermatologist for diagnosis," Brown says. It may even be possible for this kind of test to pick up other types of skin cancer besides melanoma, though this needs to be tested in another study, Zaenker says.

                  "As a standalone test, the test needs to be at least 90 percent accurate to be approved by the FDA," Zaenker says. However, the researchers hope it can be used sooner in conjunction with other methods of detecting melanoma. "Our next step is to organize a clinical trial in which we will test 1,000 blood samples from people who are suspected to have melanoma," she says.