Australian scientists say they have developed a blood test to detect melanoma in its early stages.
Currently, clinicians rely on skin examinations and biopsies to detect melanoma. BBC News report that researchers suggest the blood test could provide more accurate results than the human eye and save many lives.
Developed by scientists at Edith Cowan University, the test picks up melanoma by recognising auto-antibodies produced by the body to combat the cancer’s early growth.
The study initially examined 1627 functional proteins. After analysis, researchers identified 10 auto-antibodies that best indicated the presence of melanoma.
In a trial involving about 200 people – half of whom had the cancer – the test was successful in 81.5 per cent of cases.
Prof Mel Ziman, head of the research team, said the blood test could hasten diagnosis.
“Often in routine clinical practice, it can be a little difficult to tell an early stage melanoma from a mole,” she told the BBC.
“This blood test will fit in when the patient goes to the clinic to determine whether the lesion is a melanoma. The physician could do the test first before feeling like they have to do a biopsy.”
It will now undergo clinical trials, to take place within three years, in a bid to improve its accuracy to 90 per cent. Researchers hope it could be approved for use within five years.
The research was published in the journal Oncotarget (June 2018).