Promising New Tool may Fight Against Melanoma

Key cancer blood markers could be used to select the most effective treatment for melanoma, which can improve melanoma survival rates, reports a new study.

Key cancer blood markers could be used to select the most effective treatment for melanoma, which can improve melanoma survival rates, reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.//

The research discovered that patients with high levels of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), an essential indicator of cancer in the blood, could benefit from receiving a more aggressive treatment as the first line of defense against melanoma.

Melanoma - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment & Prevention
Melanoma of the skin is a dangerous type of skin cancer that usually appears as a cancerous mole due to exposure to the sun’s damaging UV rays.

‘A key blood marker of cancer may help clinicians to deliver personalized therapy regimens based on specific disease characteristics and the patient. ’

The study's lead investigator, Associate Professor Elin Gray, stated that the finding could help clinicians home in on effective treatment for melanoma.

"Selecting the right course of medications and therapies to treat melanoma is very complex and relies on a number of factors, including the tumor characteristics and how it has spread throughout the body," stated Associate Professor Gray.

"This biomarker could help clinicians to determine better which patients would have better outcomes if we hit the tumor with aggressive combination immunotherapy first."

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Subungual (below the nail) melanoma is a rare skin cancer that develops due to activated pigment-producing cells. A brown-black longitudinal band is a typical sign of nail cancer.

Associate Professor Gray said while the research findings need validation in future studies, they highlight the need to consider how biomarkers are used in melanoma treatment decisions carefully.

This research will help clinicians to deliver personalized treatment regimens based on distinct disease characteristics and the patient.

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Source-Medindia

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