The Hindu
05/27/2010
A potent new vaccine that could reverse or even cure malignant melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer, is on the anvil.
Skin cancer is now the most common cancer in the 15-34 age bracket and is linked to exposure to the sun on beach holidays and the use of tanning booths. It claims some 2,000 lives every year.
Lindy Durrant, professor in clinical oncology at the Nottingham University School of Molecular Medical Sciences, believes the new SCIB1 vaccine, which specifically targets tumour cells, could be successful in treating the disease.
The vaccine works by activating the body’s own natural defence systems – it contains DNA and genetic material from tumours.
It switches on the specific immune cells that target melanoma, leaving the surrounding healthy tissue untouched.
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