Search for melanoma markers in plasma and serum samples

Fourteen blood samples from patients with melanoma and eleven blood samples from healthy subjects were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry. The study was focussed on species of low molecular weight, in the range 800-5000 Da, present in plasma and sera. While for healthy subjects plasma samples lead to the production of a higher number of ionic species, for melanoma patients a high number of diagnostic ions, present with high frequency and with quite high relative abundance, are present in particular in serum samples and to a lesser extent also in plasma. Since plasma samples are obtained more easily in comparison to sera, it is possible to suggest that also plasma can be used for these studies.