Showing posts with label expectancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label expectancy. Show all posts

New Anti-Melanoma Treatment Is Promising

Australia has the highest rate of melanoma in the world. People will not listen. Many still regularly tan themselves in the sun or even go to solariums. Any improvement in treating melanoma is sorely needed in this country.

Tumors put up defences against drugs that aim to destroy them. Combining drugs can break down these barriers. A new kind of anti-melanoma drug, the BRAF inhibitor, has been developed. It is not a "golden bullet". Life expectancy can be increased from 8 months to 15 months.

Better results have been obtained by combining BRAF with another inhibitor called MEK. They slow down the growth of the cancer. Some tumor were shrunk. Though the tests were done on only 24 patients, improvement in treatment is promising.
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