HUNTER researchers have found two existing drugs can improve survival times for patients with late-stage melanoma.
The Hunter Medical Research Institute team, led by Professor Nikola Bowden and Dr Andre van der Westhuizen, have published their findings in American Association for Cancer Research journal Cancer Research Communications.
Their trial focused on patients whose illness had become resistant, using chemotherapy drugs Azacitidine and Carboplatin to "re-sensitise" their bodies to other medication designed to help their immune system fight the cancer.
Professor Bowden said the study provided a potential new treatment for patients with limited alternatives.
"For some of the patients, it was like the tumours were frozen in time and they stayed the same for a very long time," Professor Bowden said. "Some patients even experienced a reduction in tumour size and number."
The research, which began in 2015, has entered a second stage of clinical trials that are underway.
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