An Australian research team from Edith Cowan University, in collaboration with scientists from Harvard Medical School, has succeeded in developing an approach for a novel method of diagnosing melanoma cells circulating in the blood in cases of malignant melanoma. The new method, a combination of three tests, can thus facilitate the diagnosis and therapy of highly malignant cancer cells in the blood, as even a few cells in one millilitre of blood can be identified in this way. The tumour cells look different in each person and have so far been difficult to detect because they hide in small numbers in very large amounts of red and white blood cells, explains Professor Elin Gray, head of the study, which was recently published in the British Journal of Cancer. Using the combined triple blood test, circulating melanoma cells, which vary greatly in form and bioactivity, can be detected at an early stage. This is what makes the test so unique. Black skin cancer is a very dangerous type of cancer which, once it has spread from the primary tumour into the bloodstream, is virtually unstoppable. The circulating tumor cells then form secondary tumors/metastases in other organs of the body. The test can simplify diagnosis and stop the migration of cancer cells in the blood, said the lead researcher. The novel method opens up 72 percent detection rates. However, the reliability and accuracy of such skin cancer tests with blood from affected individuals still needs to be worked on and experimented with in order to be able to detect circulating cancer cells of a wide range in the near future.
