ACROBATIC congratulates Marie Øbo Larsen, PhD student at Aarhus University, for her oral presentation at the Nordic Melanoma Meeting 2025

ACROBATIC congratulates Marie Øbo Larsen, PhD student at Aarhus Universitet, who received an ACROBATIC travel grant to participate in the Nordic Melanoma Meeting 2025, held 10–12 November 2025 in Tromsø, Norway, where she delivered an oral presentation of her translational melanoma research.

Marie presented her work entitled: “Peri-operative Treatment with Tranexamic Acid (TXA); Prognostic and Treatment-Related Impact of the Plasmin(ogen) Pathway in Melanoma”.

About the study
Aims:
In a novel therapeutic approach, tranexamic acid (TXA) is being repurposed as a perioperative anti-carcinogenic agent. The research investigates how TXA may influence relapse risk and postoperative complications in patients with melanoma undergoing surgery.

Materials and Methods:
Marie's project forms part of the PRIME trial (Perioperative Treatment with Tranexamic Acid in Melanoma), a national randomized controlled trial organized within the Danish Melanoma Group.
Over a three-year period (2023–2026), 1,204 adults diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma (tumor grade ≥T2b) and eligible for sentinel node dissection are randomized to receive either perioperative TXA or placebo.
The embedded PRIME-Translational study conducts an in-depth biological analysis of a subset of 250 participants, exploring how melanoma surgery affects key molecular systems—including the fibrinolytic pathway, inflammatory responses, and the gut microbiome—and how TXA modulates these processes.

Biospecimen collection is extensive:
Blood samples at baseline, 2 hours, 12 days, and 3, 12, and 24 months post-surgery or at first relapse, analysing markers of fibrinolysis (SuPAR, fibrinogen, fibrin D-dimer, t-PA, PAI-1, fibrinolytic capacity) and inflammation (hs-CRP, differential count, macrophage markers, and broad inflammatory cell/cytokine panels).
Fecal samples at baseline, 12 days, 3 and 24 months post-surgery or at relapse to assess microbiome composition and metabolite profiles.
These biomarkers are correlated with established prognostic indicators in melanoma—including Breslow thickness, ulceration status, mitotic rate—as well as clinical stage and relapse patterns (local, regional, systemic).

Perspectives:
PRIME-Translational aims to uncover how perioperative biological changes in inflammation, fibrinolysis, and the microbiome relate to disease progression, and to elucidate the mechanisms by which TXA may influence inflammatory pathways.
The overarching goal is to identify new early therapeutic targets and ultimately support improved treatment strategies for patients with melanoma.