Dr. Lipson on the Role of ctDNA Testing in Melanoma

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.