New melanoma drug proves to be more effective treatment than chemotherapy

A couple of years ago Kathy Gardiner was told she had an incurable melanoma, but after being selected for clinical trial of a new drug things are looking promising for the now 35-year-old.

"Fear, fear is the initial reaction," Ms Gardiner said.

"It's very difficult initially when you're diagnosed with a terminal prognosis to try to come to terms with the coping mechanisms."

Her first melanoma was discovered in 2006 and was classified as a stage one melanoma, but after seven years there was a reoccurrence in 2013.

Following several major operations and radiation this melanoma advanced from stage three to four.

Ms Gardiner was told the cancer was terminal in February 2014, and as she was 33 at the time she was scared as there were not many treatment options available.

She was granted access to a trial of a drug in June 2014, which has proven to be more effective than chemotherapy in treating melanomas.

Last year the drug, known as PD1 antibodies, was added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme following the trials of the immune therapy at the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

It is an intravenous therapy which Dr Victoria Atkinson from the hospital said is designed to make your body realise it has cancer.

"To make your white cells see that you have cancer cells there and continue to have them act, work on your cancer to kill it," said Dr Atkinson.

Seventy of the patients at the hospital have been utilising the therapy for advanced melanoma.

“We have proven that people do better on the Keytruda than on chemotherapy, so we’ve now moved to this therapy as a standard of care for patients with melanoma instead,” Dr Atkinson said.

According to the hospital, 35-40 per cent of patients have experienced shrinkage of the cancer following the trials and 30 per cent have seen a stablisation of the illness.

But for around 30 per cent of patients there has been no response to the treatment.

"The average survival for patients with melanoma up until 2010 was nine months, this is for all stages of melanoma no matter what we did," Dr Victoria Atkinson told media in Brisbane on Wednesday.

"Despite 30 years of clinical trials we hadn't had much of an improvement."

Dr Atkinson said that results were published recently from one trial showing that 55 per cent of patients were alive at two years.

"Two years survival of 55 per cent was something that was unthought of a couple of years back," Dr Atkinson said.

The PD1 antibodies is now being trialled to treat other diseases as well.

News break – July 20