Dr. Lipson on the Role of ctDNA Testing in Melanoma

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Evan J. Lipson, MD, associate professor of oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Medicine, discusses the role of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) ​testing in melanoma.

Currently, ctDNA is being utilized in multiple scenarios for patients with melanoma, including forpatients who present with high burden ​of disease. In those cases, it is necessary to know whether that patient harbors a BRAF mutation as these alterations are oncogenic drivers, Lipson explains. The presence of a BRAF mutation is indicative that the patient is eligible for and should receive a BRAF inhibitor, Lipson says.

Blood-based ctDNA assays can more quickly assess for BRAF mutations compared with tissue-based testing, which means patients are matched with targeted options efficiently, Lipson concludes.