Pioneering Tumor RNA Detection in Melanoma

Posted on June 17, 2025 | By Double-Strand LLC Research Team

In a groundbreaking study published on August 1, 1999, in Clinical Cancer Research (Volume 5, Issue 8, pages 1961-1965), researchers Michael S. Kopreski, Francis A. Benko, Larry W. Kwak, and Constance D. Gocke demonstrated the detection of tumor messenger RNA (mRNA) in the serum of patients with malignant melanoma. This pioneering work marked a significant milestone in the field of non-invasive cancer diagnostics, revealing that cell-free nucleic acids, specifically mRNA, could be isolated from blood and used to identify cancer-related genetic material without the need for invasive biopsies.

The study involved analyzing serum samples from melanoma patients and healthy controls, identifying tumor-specific mRNA that correlated with disease presence. This finding opened the door to liquid biopsy techniques, which have since evolved to detect various cancers and monitor treatment responses. At Double-Strand LLC, we build on this legacy, leveraging advanced sequencing and bioinformatics to discover novel molecular biomarkers for non-invasive diagnostics, including our ongoing PRAD and lung/colon cancer projects.

Key Takeaways

• The 1999 study was the first to detect tumor mRNA in serum, a precursor to modern liquid biopsies.
• Cell-free nucleic acids in blood offer a non-invasive window into cancer biology.
• Double-Strand LLC is advancing this field with innovative biomarker research.

To learn more about our pipeline or collaborate on similar research, visit our Pipeline page or Contact Us.

Citation: Kopreski, M. S., Benko, F. A., Kwak, L. W., & Gocke, C. D. (1999). Detection of Tumor Messenger RNA in the Serum of Patients with Malignant Melanoma. *Clin Cancer Res*, 5(8), 1961-1965.