Melanoma might not mean a death sentence much longer, thanks to technological advances made by MU researchers.
Led by John Viator, associate professor of biological engineering and associate professor of biomedical engineering and dermatology, the team of researchers discovered a method of detecting cancerous cells before they become tumors.
The method involves photoacoustics, or laser-induced ultrasounds, that can detect melanoma much more efficiently than current detection methods. Early detection is crucial in curing melanoma because it prevents the disease from multiplying throughout the body.
“Currently, metastatic disease, the phase of cancer where it is spreading throughout the body, is detected by performing body scans, looking for macroscopic tumors that are greater than a few millimeters in size,” Viator said in an email. “This method is a new paradigm where we detect cancer’s spread in the bloodstream by detecting single cells in blood samples.”
Melanoma is typically found in disfigured, pigmented skin tissues such as moles. It is considered to be the most serious type of skin cancer because of how rapidly the disease progresses. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, if melanoma is not treated immediately, it spreads so quickly that treatment becomes difficult, making the disease potentially fatal. In 2012 there were an estimated 76,250 new cases and 9,180 deaths, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Viator said photoacoustics could detect metastasis before a tumor is visible on a body scan. It can also be executed on equipment that is more simplistic than MRIs or CT Scans, which are currently used to diagnose melanoma, making the method less expensive and more sensitive.
Photoacoustics are being produced commercially for various cancer studies and clinical trials to receive the United States Food and Drug Administration’s approval before it’s used by physicians as a tool for early diagnosis.
“The ability to detect metastatic disease when it is still at the single cell level may allow treatment to be done in much lower doses, so that chemotherapy can be performed in such a way that is much easier on the patient,” he said.
Biological engineering graduate student Ben Goldschmidt contributed to the project for the past few months. He specifically worked on creating a disposable flow cell for a melanoma detection system in order for the device to be used commercially.
“It benefits patients by giving them a message to monitor their treatment based on their cells in their blood,” Goldschmidt said. “If the cell level does happen to go up, it gives the doctor an idea that treatment should be changed.”
He said the photoacoustic device benefits patients in a variety of ways, as well as doctors and those who may be predisposed to metastatic melanoma.
“We hope one day to use this method as a general screening tool for everyone, just like women have to get mammograms,” Goldschmidt said. “After a certain age, it would be part of your routine physical. If you’re predisposed to metastatic melanoma and if the disease is ‘caught early’ by our detection system before the patient shows symptoms, then the chances of survival can be up to 90 percent.”
