Gene-based blood test may predict melanoma recurrence
Source: Healio, April 2025
Key takeaways:
- Researchers evaluated a blood test’s ability to predict recurrence in patients with stage 3 melanoma.
- Approximately 80% of patients with ctDNA levels detected by the blood test experienced recurrence.
Monitoring blood levels of circulating tumor DNA in patients with stage 3 melanoma may accurately predict skin cancer recurrence, according to results from a phase 3 study published in The Lancet Oncology.
Occurring when cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, stage 3 melanoma is one of the most dangerous and difficult forms of skin cancer to treat. Patients who have had affected lymph nodes surgically removed often must undergo additional therapy to eliminate any remnant of cancer, according to David Polsky, MD, PhD, a professor in the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology and Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Health and one of the investigators of this study.