In a new study, researchers found that a simple blood test could soon become the latest monitoring tool for the early detection of melanoma in the eye.
They discovered markers in the blood that can differentiate between a benign mole and a melanoma, while also identifying if cancer has spread to other areas of the body.
The blood test could monitor very early signs of the disease.
The research was conducted by a team at the University of Queensland.
Moles or naevi in the eye are common but can be difficult to monitor because changes to their shape or coloring can’t always be seen as easily as on the skin.
Outcomes are poor for people with melanoma in their eyes if their cancer spreads to the liver.
The current study is a progression of research where the panel of biomarkers was first developed and used to detect melanoma on the skin.
In this research, blood samples were collected from people with either benign naevi or melanoma in the back of their eye, in addition to a small number of metastasized cases.
The samples were then tested against the panel of microRNA biomarkers to distinguish the stage of the disease.
This blood test was able to detect the difference between a benign mole located at the back of the eye and melanoma in the eye.
It also has the potential to show if the melanoma has metastasized and spread to other areas of the body.
The team says after further development, the blood test had the potential to be used as a monitoring tool in conjunction with optometrists, GPs, and specialists.
This test may allow doctors to better screen these patients for early signs of melanoma formation.
One author of the study is Dr. Mitchell Stark.
The study is published in Translational Vision Science & Technology.
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