Washington, USA January 23, ANI A team of researchers has developed a test that predicts the spread or return of the most deadly form of skin cancer.
They made a breakthrough in understanding the mechanisms of skin cancer growth.
The test, in association with the University spin-out company AMLo Biosciences, offers patients diagnosed with early stage melanoma, and is led by Professor Penny Lovat at Newcastle University, UK.
Patients who are at low risk of the disease reoccurring or spreading can be identified by applying the test - called AMBLor - to the standard biopsy of the primary melanoma on its removal.
A referral service is now available where sections from a patient's melanoma can be sent to a lab for analysis with the support of the National Institute for Health Research NIHR to develop the provision and work with AMLo Biosciences.
The test identifies the true risk of disease progression and provides more accurate information about the risk of the disease spreading to anyone diagnosed with a non-ulcerated early-stage melanoma, accounting for around 75 per cent of all new diagnoses.
Melanoma is increasing worldwide and more than 16,000 people in the UK and 96,000 people in the US are diagnosed with cancer every year.
The authors explained how early-stage melanomas secrete a growth factor, TGFb 2, which causes the reduction or downregulation of the AMBRA 1 and Loricrin proteins, both of which are found in the skin overlying the tumour. The growth factor TGFb 2 also causes the loss of claudin 1 leading to the loss of the integrity of the skin and facilitating ulceration.
Professor Penny Lovat, Professor of Cellular Dermatology and Oncology at Newcastle University and Chief Scientific Officer at AMLo Biosciences said, Like mortar and bricks holding together a wall, AMBRA 1, Loricrin and Claudin 1 are all proteins that are key to maintaining the integrity of the upper layer of the skin. When these proteins are lost gaps develop, like the mortar crumbling away in the wall. This allows the tumour to spread and eventually ulcerate, which we know is a process associated with higher risk tumours.
She said that the new understanding of this biological mechanism is underpins the test we have available.
Cory Inglis, 49, lives on the South Coast, and AMBLor is about to be used on his standard biopsy after a diagnosis of a melanoma on his back.
He said when you sit down with a dermatologist after the initial excision, you hear that it wasn't a mole, it was a melanoma. You are in a state of fear. A lot of the information provided is in an extremely impenetrable technical language. To be able to have a test like this that shows you the results of the melanoma being low or at risk can help your medical team communicate the information in a way that is comprehensible, and helps them make the right decisions for you. A test like AMBLor, which tells you that your tumour is genuinely low risk, helps with the anxiety of an already very stressful situation. Patients will understand what a low-risk result means. If the result is at risk, then it justifies the number of interactions that you will have with the dermatology team over a 5 year period. He said that he doesn't see any downside in providing the dermatology team with more information about your melanoma.
Professor Penny Lovat said that our test predicts if your skin cancer will not spread and that our test will give you a personalised prognosis. This test will help clinicians identify genuinely low-risk patients diagnosed with early stage melanoma, and reduce the number of follow-up appointments for those identified as low risk, saving NHS time and money. Phil Brady, Chief Operating Officer of the British Skin Foundation, said The British Skin Foundation is proud to support Professor Penny Lovat's ground-breaking melanoma research. The development of the AMBLor test can reduce stress and anxiety for patients caused by this potentially deadly skin cancer, while increasing efficiency and reducing costs to the NHS. Professor Nick Levell, Consultant Dermatologist British Skin Foundation spokesperson who hasn't been involved in the research said: This is excellent news. This new test for melanoma will help many people with skin cancer. People at low risk can be reassured and will not have to go to the hospital so often for check-ups. This British Skin Foundation co-funded research is an important step forward in making care more personal after melanoma. The primary tumour is removed by surgery and pathologists study the biopsy under the microscope to determine the stage the skin cancer is at and the risk of it spreading metastasis Even if defined as low risk, the patient is followed up in the clinic for as long as five years and it is these patients that the test can identify.