Latest Research in the Fight Against Melanoma
Many people are interested in the latest research in this field. As medical science advances, it is possible that new treatment options for patients will be developed. In addition, the current targets of medical research are all important as new approaches are tested and tried. One area of particular interest is in the area of kidney cancer and targeted therapies.
New research on this disease often focuses on advanced kidney cancer drugs that are being developed or already in use. One example is the combination treatment paclitaxel and cotrimoxazole. A recent study showed an increase in response rates for patients receiving this medication when compared to those given a placebo. It is also being studied in clinical trials for use in treating multiple myeloma, an aggressive cancer of the lymphatic tissues. Other types of cancers that have shown promise in clinical trials are melanoma, lung and liver cancer, ovarian cancer and multiple myeloma.
One of the latest developments in fighting melanoma and other types of skin cancer is the use of light therapy. Lasers are now helping to design and test treatments for melanoma that use blue and ultraviolet light to kill melanoma cancer cells. One type of laser that has been under development is a targeted therapy that uses a chemical compound to help destroy melanoma cancer cells without harming healthy skin cells. The compound is designed to have only one compound level, eliminating multiple levels of the compound allowing for the destruction of melanoma at once. This is important because melanoma is a highly resistant cancer cell and if multiple levels of the chemical are used, there is a chance that multiple melanoma cancer cells could still divide.
New clinical trials are also testing new targeted therapies for treating melanoma. These targeted therapies are designed to increase the white blood cells (panleukocytes) in the body, increasing the number of white blood cells that work to fight off infections and diseases. These clinical trials include such new advances as immunotherapy, where doctors fight off the disease by giving the body immune injections designed to attack the disease.
Another advance in targeted therapies for melanoma is based on immunotherapies. Immunotherapies give doctors an arsenal to fight melanoma, working not only to fight off cancer cells, but also to also prevent the disease from spreading to other parts of the body. For example, some immunotherapies target the antibodies that are made in the immune system that are made to attack cancer cells, preventing the body from making any antibodies to that disease. Other immunotherapies simply increase the strength of the antibodies that are already working.
One of the most promising areas of research for the latest research in melanoma is genetic engineering. This is where genes are manipulated to specifically alter cells in a person’s body. Gene manipulation allows scientists to potentially look at how gene expression levels may affect the growth of melanoma tumors. This is one area of research that will likely need further studies and possibly even trials before it is ready for prime time. The results of gene manipulation, however, could mean the end of melanoma and a brighter future for everyone with skin damage caused by this often deadly disease.