(Newser)
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A new vaccine being tested in the UK may offer hope to patients suffering from the deadliest form of skin cancer. The drug, which attacks tumor cells and boosts the body's response to skin cancer without affecting healthy cells, appears to cure advanced melanoma in some patients. In a study of 50 melanoma patients, 16% who'd been given no more than nine months to live made full recoveries with the vaccine; another 28% saw their tumors shrink to half size.
"Our study shows we may have a cure for some advanced melanoma patients and a drug which has real benefits for others," a doctor told the Daily Telegraph. "This will save thousands of lives a year." They hope to have the vaccine on the market within 5 years.
