Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ MayoComplete Melanoma Panel (Mayo ID: MCMLN) is a comprehensive test that better informs the prognosis and treatment of melanoma. It can be applied to a wide range of cases, including unusual tumors that haven’t yet been identified as melanoma and melanomas with complex molecular structures.

“This updated version of the panel adds 12 genes associated with melanoma and uses whole exome sequencing,” says Ruifeng (Ray) Guo, M.D., Ph.D. “It will be helpful for better classification of melanoma, which is critical for clinical treatment guidance.”

Microsatellite instability status (MSI), which is an emerging predictive and prognosticative biomarker for immunotherapy response in cancer, is included in the MCMLN panel. Dr. Guo believes MSI will provide more clinical and molecular insight for the classification of melanoma in the future.

To learn more, check out this test-specific episode of the “Answers From the Lab” podcast on Mayo Clinic Laboratories Insights.