Overall, 89%, 92%, 82%, and 50% of patients failed to display detectable serum levels of BAFF/TNFSF13B, CX3CL1, LTα, and CCL21 (defined as < 2 pg/ml, < 0.5 pg/ml, < 1 pg/ml and <7 pg/ml for the respective analytes) amongst an initial cohort of 78 melanoma patients evaluated. The gene discussed is LTA; the disease is melanoma.