DecisionDx-Melanoma

DecisionDx^®-Melanoma is a genomic test that looks at your own tumor’s biology (usually from your original biopsy) to better understand your personal risk of your tumor spreading (metastasis), coming back (recurring or returning) within the next 5 years, and the chance of sentinel lymph node positivity (where melanoma often first spreads). DecisionDx-Melanoma has been validated in those with stage I-III melanoma.²

DecisionDx-Melanoma uses a small sample of your tumor (melanoma tissue) to measure the activity of 31 specific genes found to be associated with melanoma progression, specifically recurrence (cancer comes back) and metastasis (spreading). Based on your tumor’s activity levels, DecisionDx-Melanoma classifies your personal tumor as lowest risk (Class 1A), increased risk (Class 1B/2A), or highest risk (Class 2B).ⁱ

Generally, doctors give risk assessments based on cancer statistics from studies of people in similar situations (population statistics, or risk). These statistics describe what happens in groups of people defined by certain characteristics, such as age, biological sex, size of tumor. For melanoma, this includes measurements such as Breslow thickness, ulceration, and more.ⁱⁱ Because every patient's tumor is unique, with DecisionDx-Melanoma you get a personal risk assessment specific only to you.

Only 20% of people with malignant melanoma have melanoma in their sentinel node,ⁱⁱⁱ sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB, the surgery to remove the node(s)) does not impact overall survival, and SNLB comes with certain risks^iv that should be discussed with your doctor.

DecisionDx-Melanoma can help doctors determine you likelihood of needing a SLNB, or not, when added to clinicopathological features information (signs and symptoms you experience plus results of other laboratory studies and the review of melanoma tissue from your biopsy).^1,3,v

For those with SLN-negative disease, results show if you are at high risk for recurrence or death from melanoma even though you are considered to be low risk by the traditional American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging standards.¹

DecisionDx-Melanoma results help you and your cancer care team make decisions about your treatment, follow-up appointments, referrals, and the sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) surgical procedure. In fact, 1 out of every 2 people who get a DecisionDx-Melanoma test have a change made to their melanoma treatment plan for at least one of the following: frequency of doctor visits, lab work, or surveillance (monitoring) imaging.⁶