Blood test can measure effectiveness of treatments for aggressive skin cancers

NEW YORK – Blood tests that track the amount of tumor DNA can – after only one month of drug therapy – detect how well treatment is working in patients with skin cancer, a new study found.

Led by researchers from New York University School of Medicine and Perlmutter Cancer Center, the study took advantage of the nature of cancer cells, which die and are replaced by new cells continuously as part of aggressive cancer growth. Tumor cells burst as they die, spilling their DNA into the bloodstream, where it can be measured by tests, enabling improved diagnosis and better targeting of treatment bas...