A new study has revealed that a key blood marker of cancer could be used to select the most effective treatment for melanoma.

The discovery, which has the potential to improve melanoma survival rates, was published today in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

The research found that patients with high levels of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) — an important indicator of cancer in the blood — could potentially benefit from receiving a more aggressive treatment as a first line of defence against melanoma.

The study’s lead researcher Associate Professor Elin Gray said the finding could help clinicians home in on effective melanoma treatments.

«Selecting the right course of drugs and therapies to treat melanoma is extremely complex and relies on a number of factors, including the characteristics of the tumour and how it has spread throughout the body,» Associate Professor Gray said.

«This biomarker could help clinicians to better determine which patients would have better outcomes if we hit the cancer with an aggressive combination immunotherapy first.»

Taking aim

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