Professor Penny Lovat
Researcher, British Skin Foundation
Professor Jane Armstrong
Researcher, British Skin Foundation
A recently developed antibody test, AMBLor, can tell doctors whether a patient’s melanoma is at very low risk of spreading or in need of closer care.
Melanoma is the most serious of all skin cancers, with 20,800 new diagnoses projected this year alone in the UK. It spreads (metastasises) very easily, so everyone with the condition is followed up and investigated thoroughly after the initial surgery to remove the tumour.
Melanoma research progress
The British Skin Foundation (BSF) first provided joint funding (with NIHR, Melanoma Focus and Newcastle University) for Professor Penny Lovat’s work in identifying two important protein biomarkers implicated in the formation of melanomas. The company, AMLo Biosciences — co-founded with Dr Marie Labus — has gone from a Newcastle University spinout to an employer of over 20 people in the UK and USA.
People at low risk could be spared
subsequent tests and follow-up appointments.
Antibody test determines metastasis risk
Melanoma is usually diagnosed early where the tumour has not yet metastasised. However, up to 20% of people with an early-stage tumour will still die from the condition; this group represents the most deaths from melanoma skin cancer. This was due to clinicians being unable to identify which patients required close monitoring and which ones could be relieved from frequent visits and tests.
The work helped Professor Lovat and AMLo to develop an antibody test, AMBLor, that seeks out the presence of two protective proteins in the skin over melanoma. It informs doctors if a melanoma is at very low risk of spreading and who might need closer care.
People at low risk could be spared subsequent tests and follow-up appointments and suffer less worry about the potential cancer progress. In 2024, Professor Lovat, with Professor Jane Armstrong and 26 other experts across the world, published the final validation of this work in the British Journal of Dermatology.
Studying melanoma metastasis biomarkers
Moreover, the BSF has recently funded additional research under the management of Professor Lovat and Dr Ioana Cosgarea, working with Professor Jane Armstrong to look for biomarkers that might further stratify each melanoma according to the risk of metastasis. They recently published a poster at an international conference confirming the role of AMBRA1 protein in the tissue surrounding the tumour.
The project has also yielded information about other important proteins that may be key to unlocking further information for doctors treating people with melanomas. This work has been made possible with BSF’s support.
