Researchers in the United States say they have been able to cure a man with skin cancer by injecting the patient with billions of clones of his own immune cells.

Melanoma cure
©Reuters - Darrin Zammit Lupi
Melanoma is the fourth most common cancer in Australia, with more than 9,000 new cases each year.


The 52-year-old man had been suffering from advanced melanoma which had spread to his lungs as well as his lymph nodes, but since receiving the treatment, he has been living cancer-free for two years.

Dr Naomi Hunder is an oncologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, and one of the lead authors in the study.

"One thing that we showed in the paper was that there was immunity to multiple tumour antigens with increase after the T cell infusion," she said.

"Not just the one we were targeting, but at least two others. So it may be a general immune activation."

Dr Hunder says they concentrated on a type of white blood cells called a C4, rather than stimulating other T cells known as CD8, which are known to attack tumours.

"CD4 cells are similar, however they don't usually play the role of actually attacking cells," she said.

"They're the ones that we call helper cells, and they tend to secrete cytocines and growth factors for other immune cells to help coordinate the immune system."

Melanoma is the fourth most common cancer in Australia, with more than 9,000 new cases each year. But cancer experts here are cautiously welcoming this new treatment.

Professor Ian Olver is the CEO of the Cancer Council Australia. He says it is exciting new prospect, but it needs to be tested further.

"I think it's very difficult to assume that it's going to work in all sorts of other cancers," he said.

"Melanoma is interesting because it's always had a history of people observing spontaneous regressions of the disease, which suggests the immune system does have something specific to do.

"Other diseases may not be as responsive, so that will have to be part of the testing."

Based on a report by Jennifer Macey for AM