Melanoma: early diagnosis by blood test
A test for early diagnosis of melanoma has been created
News from NCRI Cancer Conference: Blood test reveals skin cancer spreadScientists from the University of Dundee (UK) have developed a unique test to detect the development of melanoma from a blood sample.
Based on this analysis, it will be possible to determine the change in the expression level of the TFP12 gene in DNA, which will allow diagnosing the disease at an early stage, and in the future – to develop new treatment methods. The results of the study were presented yesterday at the cancer conference of the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) in Liverpool.
Melanoma is a malignant tumor that develops from pigmented skin cells (melanocytes). This disease is one of the most dangerous malignant human tumors due to frequent relapses and the ability to metastasize to almost all organs. In addition, melanoma is difficult to detect at the initial stage of development, and with advanced stages of the disease, the ten-year survival rate of patients is no more than 20%.
To date, blood tests are usually not used to diagnose melanoma, but some tests are carried out before or during treatment to determine the melanoma-specific tumor marker protein S-100 and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the blood. A high level of LDH during melanoma metastasis to distant organs often serves as a sign of tumor resistance to treatment, and that's all. Also, if necessary, a biopsy of the lymph nodes and a PCR analysis of the sample are performed.
After studying the DNA of tumor cells circulating in the bloodstream, scientists found that the TFP12 gene, which usually controls the growth of healthy cells, was "turned off" in patients with melanoma due to methylation of certain parts of their DNA. The results of the scientists' study showed that in the early stages of tumor development, the level of DNA methylation was low, whereas in the last stages of the disease, a much higher percentage of modified genome sites was noted.
Such modification of a nucleic acid molecule is a chemical label that can be determined in a laboratory way, on which the mechanism of the new diagnostic test is based.
In addition, the researchers also found that a potential biomarker called NT5E is associated with the spread of an aggressive form of melanoma.
"Thanks to the blood test, we now have a simple and accurate way to find out about the onset of melanoma and determine the stage of the disease," said Dr. Tim Crook, oncologist and lead author of the work. Treatment of melanoma is most effective at an early stage of the disease, therefore, early diagnosis of the tumor, according to him, will significantly increase the chances of patients to defeat the disease.
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