New Vaccine Offers Hope for Melanoma Patients

Results of a study published in the Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer has found that a new vaccine is effective in slowing down or stopping the progression of advanced melanoma in patients. Researchers at Australia's University of Adelaide tested the vaccine, known as vaccinia melanoma cell lysate (VMCL), on a group of 54 South Australian patients who had been diagnosed with advanced and inoperable form of melanoma over a period of 10 years.

Around 30 percent of the patients who regularly received the vaccination lived up to two years while around 15 percent lived for over five years. The researchers added that the longest surviving period was over 10 years in a patient after the treatment began.

"In our study, over 15% of patients survived for more than five years while receiving successive vaccinations with VMCL. Up to 30% of our patients survived almost two years or longer. This is especially significant when you consider that all of our patients had advanced stage IV and stage III melanoma. The longest survivor, who was diagnosed with stage IV melanoma, is still alive and well now over 10 years after his treatment began, which is a fantastic result for him and his loved ones", lead researcher Brendon Coventry said.


Source-Medindia