Brussels researchers develop promising skin cancer treatment
A clinical trial in Brussels on 39 patients with advanced melanoma using a combination of cell and antibody therapy has shown remarkable results
Seeking new funding
In a clinical study, 39 patients with advanced melanoma were treated. All had earlier tried other cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, without positive effect.
Researchers Bart Neyns and Kris Thielemans were the first to combine a therapy with the body’s own cells and an immune-stimulating antibody therapy, in the hope that this would improve the separate results of the two treatments.
The result of their experiment is being described as remarkable: In 15 of the 39 patients, a considerable reduction of the melanoma was ascertained, and in eight patients the disease disappeared completely.
The treatment costs more than €100,000 per patient, which was partly financed by American pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb. The researchers will now look for new funding to continue the tests.
