A small, early-stage clinical trial of an experimental skin cancer drug delivered some impressive results. Researchers for Plexxikon and Roche say that more than half of the patients taking PLX4032 (R7204) saw the extent of their malignant melanoma--the most lethal form of skin cancer--reduced by at least 30 percent.

The drug targets tumor cells with a BRAF mutation, a condition common to 60 percent of all skin cancer cases. People taking the drug in the 16-patient study lived an average of six months without disease progression. Now Roche and Plexxikon are working on a diagnostic test to identify BRAF-positive cases as they pursue larger clinical trials.

"While these results are interesting, they need to be followed up in much larger studies before we know if this is a suitable new treatment for people with advanced melanoma," said Cancer Research UK's Dr Jodie Moffat. "Melanoma is difficult to treat when it is at an advanced stage so it's crucial to find new treatments to help beat the disease."

- read the report from the BBC

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