Melaseq™

The Challenge:

Melanoma develops from pigmented skin cells and if left undiagnosed, can spread to distant organs.
    • Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is known as ‘Australia’s National Cancer’ and kills 5 people per day – more than the road toll.
    • Melanoma is the leading cause of cancer death in people aged 20-39yrs.
    • Current methods of diagnosing melanoma are subjective, resulting in 1 out of 6 melanomas being misdiagnosed.
    • Unlike other common cancers, the mortality rate of melanoma is increasing – and is 33% more deadly now than it was in the 1980s
    • Over $1 billion is spent on skin cancer procedures and treatment every year in Australia, more than any other cancer type – yet death rates continue to increase.

(Part Of) The Solution:

Geneseq Biosciences have identified a genetic fingerprint of malignant melanoma that can be measured using a standard blood test – or from excised skin biopsy tissue.

Melaseq detects a series of melanoma genes released from cancer cells into the bloodstream.

Melaseq™ is a new approach to detecting and more precisely diagnosing melanoma.

The test is being developed as a genomic blood and skin biopsy test which will assist doctors to diagnose and monitor melanoma more accurately and objectively.

The test measures a panel of 38 microRNAs, which are a recently-discovered class of genes that have key functionality both inside and outside of cells.

The ability to detect microRNAs in disease-specific combinations makes them ideal candidates for differentiating between healthy and cancerous states.

The 38 molecular markers that comprise the Melaseq test, perform key roles in cancer development and invasion:

      • Angiogenesis & inflammation (3 markers)
      • Immune/drug resistance (11 markers)
      • Tumour growth (8 markers)
      • Invasion/metastasis (16 markers)

Geneseq Biosciences believes that by incorporating a molecular biomarker of melanoma with existing imaging and histopathology techniques, doctors will be able to more accurately diagnose melanoma with fewer unnecessary, costly and sometimes disfiguring, biopsies.