Information on Loughborough

Hunt for blood test to determine melanoma survival rates

Posted on 30/06/2009
University of Leicester

Research at the University of Leicester will be breaking new ground in the search for a simple blood test that could tell whether a patient with melanoma has the condition in an aggressive form.

Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer. Staging, which involves determining the size of the tumour and its extent of spread, is the best predictor of whether a patient will succumb to disease or survive.

However, its predictive ability is relatively inaccurate, particularly for patients with melanomas that have invaded deeply into the skin.

A simple blood test that can be used alongside staging to improve the accuracy of outcome prediction would therefore be an extremely important development.

The project, led by histopathologist Dr Gerald Saldanha and Dr Howard Pringle, both in the University of Leicester Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine, aims to assess whether the measurement of a certain class of molecule called microRNA can identify patients who are more likely to have aggressive melanoma.

The study involves measuring over 600 microRNAs in the blood of patients with thick melanoma and analysing whether scientists can distinguish one set of melanoma patients in whom the disease has already begun to spread from another set for whom it has not.

If successful, this study would provide evidence that a blood test based on microRNA analysis could be further developed and used alongside staging.

This would enable more informed planning of treatment for patients who are found to be at greatest risk of poor outcome, while those at low risk could be reassured.

This research represents a new approach to the diagnosis and prognosis of melanoma.

Dr Saldanha, who is also an Honorary Consultant at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, explained: