Genetic Test Predicts Melanoma Recurrence Risk
By Heather Onorati, Dermatology Times, August 4, 2013 |
A new genetic test can identify patients with nonmetastatic melanoma who are at high risk of recurrence, according to validation data presented at the 2013 summer meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Using the DecisionDx-Melanoma test (Castle Biosciences), researchers with Northwestern Skin Cancer Institute, Northwestern University, Chicago, measured gene expression profiles of archived formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded biopsies or wide excisions of primary melanoma tumors from 78 patients with Stage 1 and Stage 2 melanoma, according to a news release.
The DecisionDx-Melanoma test measures the expression levels of 31 genes in tumors and stratifies patients as either Class 1 (low risk of metastasis) or Class 2 (high risk of metastasis), based on which tumor genes are turned on and off. To date, the test has analyzed archived tumor samples from more than 400 patients with Stage 1 and Stage 2 melanoma.