Mediplacements

Biomedical Science News

Display News Filters

News by Profession

Biomedical Science Jobs by Duration

News Links

Blood test can spot signs of skin cancer

Wednesday 9th March 2016
A newly-developed blood test may be able to spot the signs of recurrent skin cancer. Image: iStock/damiengretka
Latest Jobs

A blood test may be able to spot signs of recurrent skin cancer, new research has revealed.

Biomedical scientists from the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute have been analysing the DNA of patients who have recovered from skin cancer in the past, finding that taking a simple blood sample could help to detect if the disease has returned.

Doctors took samples from seven patients with advanced melanoma to explore how the disease affected their DNA structure and found that new mutations occurred in the NRAS and PI3K genes following diagnosis, which potentially made tumours resistant to treatment.

Therefore, by testing the blood for signs of these DNA mutations, doctors are able to identify signs of a skin cancer relapse, allowing patients to access the most effective treatments as early as possible.

In addition, around half of all those diagnosed with melanoma are found to have a faulty BRAF gene - something else that the newly-developed blood test could help to detect. Usually, this faulty gene can be treated with the targeted drugs dabrafenib or vemurafenib.

Professor Richard Marais, skin cancer expert at Cancer Research UK and lead author of the study, explained: "Being able to spot the first signs of relapse so we can rapidly decide the best treatment strategy, is an important area for research.

"Using our technique, we hope that one day we will be able to spot when a patient's disease is coming back at the earliest point and start treatment against this much sooner, hopefully giving patients more time with their loved ones."

Currently, approximately 14,500 individuals are diagnosed with melanoma each year in the UK, with around 2,100 dying as a result of their illness. Those who recover from the disease can have it lie dormant in their bodies for many years. However, it is hoped that a widespread rollout of this blood test in the future could dramatically lower these figures, improving diagnosis and treatment of recurrent skin cancer.

Written by Martin Lambert

Mediplacements is a genuine specialist medical recruitment company. Contact us to see the latest biomedical science jobs.ADNFCR-1780-ID-801814250-ADNFCR

Related News