Study shows promising results for immunotherapy targeting skin cancer
Source: Eurek Alert!, April 2023
A new class of immunotherapy shows promising results for fighting the most aggressive form of skin cancer.
The study, published today in Nature Communications by researchers from King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, investigates whether a novel antibody can target and treat melanomas. The results show that the antibody activates the immune response to fight cancer and slows melanoma growth in mice.
Malignant melanoma is the most aggressive type of skin cancer with poor survival rates for half of patients within five-years of diagnosis. Although there has been substantial progress in developing immunotherapies (drugs which stimulate the body’s own natural defence system to attack cancer), many patients’ tumours do not respond. This drug could benefit those patients with melanoma who do not respond to existing treatment.