Skin Cancer News:

New Test Better Detects Melanoma's Spread to Lymph Nodes

Medical College of Wisconsin researchers have developed a test that more quickly and with greater accuracy than conventional methods determines whether melanoma has spread to lymph nodes.

Melanoma is the most deadly of skin cancers and is dramatically on the rise in the United States. The researchers developed a “melanoma cocktail” that makes the test possible when a patient is undergoing surgery for their skin cancer. The test is capable of detecting even very few melanoma cells, a significant factor in managing the disease, while sparing a patient an additional operation.

Lead researcher Vinod Shidham, MD, an associate professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin, said the cocktail is made of three antibodies and produces results in 30 minutes. “If the results are positive, the surgeon may proceed with removal of the patient’s regional lymph nodes during the same anesthesia,” he said.

Currently, a patient evaluated by routine methods must wait at least two days for results of a sentinel lymph node biopsy. If the test shows that cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, an additional operation is performed at a later date to remove the regional nodes to which the melanoma drains. While other rapid techniques are available such as frozen section and smear examination, they lack the high level of accuracy offered by the new test.

“If the sentinel lymph nodes are affected, it’s best for the patient to have regional nodes removed during the initial procedure,” said Shidham. “It spares the waiting, cost and morbidity of an additional operation.” He added that this method may have applications to other cancers if appropriate antibodies are selected.

Despite the speed with which the test can determine the spread of melanoma, Shidham said early detection is still the key to curing the disease.

Source: Medical Week staff, week of August 16, 2004