National Ledger - Melanoma Treatment Miracle: Patient's Own Cells Beating Skin Cancer

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By Jo Anne Way Jun 22, 2008

A 52-year-old man from Oregon with Stage 4 melanoma has responded to an experimental treatment with amazing results. The man was given less than a year to live, but had a complete remission of his advanced deadly skin cancer after an experimental treatment that revved up his immune system to fight the tumors.

Melanoma Treatment Miracle: Patient's Own Cells Beating Skin Cancer

He is now tumor-free two years after being treated by 'immunotherapy.' "Immunotherapy has become the most promising approach" to late-stage, death-sentence skin cancers, said Dr. Darrell Rigel, a dermatology researcher at the New York University Cancer Institute in New York who had no role in the research.

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This research project has been conducted by a team led by Cassian Yee, M.D., an associate member of the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He warned that this was an isolated case and urged restraint for the excitement of a cure and stressd more research. "This is only one patient," said Dr. Yee.

According to eFlux Media, nine patients took part in the experimental melanoma treatment program and the first three patients, who received a smaller dose, had no response at all. The report notes that some other patients who received the same dose didn’t respond as well as patient number 4 did, but did saw some improvement.

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The Associated Press notes in its report that Melanoma is a cancer in the skin cells that make pigments and cause skin to tan, as part of the body's attempt to protect itself from ultraviolet radiation in sunlight. Cancer begins when radiation overloads and damages the cells, causing mutations.

About 62,000 news cases are diagnosed in the United States each year, and there are about 8,000 melanoma deaths.

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