Web test new hope on cancer

AUSTRALIAN researchers have developed a simple online test to predict the risk of someone developing melanoma in the next few years.

The test, to be launched today, is based on questionnaires involving about 40,000 people over 40, including more than 650 people diagnosed with a melanoma during the research period.

It calculates a person’s likelihood of developing melanoma in the next 3½ years based on risk factors such as age, gender, ability to tan, hair colour, sunscreen use and number of moles at age 21.

The test is described by codeveloper David Whiteman, of the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, as about 70 per cent accurate.

Eventually, the goal is for patients to be able to go to their GP, complete the online test and provide a blood sample for an assessment of their melanoma risk.