Experimental Treatments

People with very advanced melanoma (Stage IV) cannot be cured. These patients often enroll in clinical trials that test new and experimental treatments. There is no guarantee that an experimental treatment will be better than treatments already in use. A new treatment may also have unknown risks. But if a new treatment proves to be effective, patients in a clinical trial may be among the first people to benefit from it.

If you would like to learn more about clinical trials for experimental treatments for melanoma, visit www.clinicaltrials.gov.

What experimental treatments are going on now?

New kinds of immunotherapy

For people with Stage IV melanoma, researchers are testing substances that are a part of the body's own immune system. Some of the current test medications include:
interleukins: these activate the body's own white blood cells to fight the cancer
tumor necrosis factor (TNF): it may directly attack and kill tumor cells
blood cell growth factors: these may boost the body's production of red and white blood cells, helping the body counteract some of the effects of radiation therapy and chemotherapy

Gene therapy

The body's own white blood cells can be genetically altered to include proteins from the tumor. This helps the immune system attack the tumor more effectively. Tumor cells themselves can also be changed to make them more vulnerable to certain drugs, or to boost the body's immune system response against the tumor.

Melanoma vaccines

A vaccine is a way to help the body's immune system recognize a foreign, potentially harmful substance and build up ways to resist it. Melanoma is one of the few cancers that the body's immune system seems to recognize. Therefore, scientists have been trying to develop a melanoma vaccine to help the body destroy the cancer once it occurs, and keep the disease from coming back.

Some vaccines are made by taking the person's own melanoma cells and adding certain proteins that will "flag" them, to start an immune response. Some vaccines are made using specific proteins that are found on all melanoma cancer cells. When these proteins are attached to bacteria and injected into a person with melanoma, they can turn on the body's immune response to create antibodies, signaling the body to destroy the tumor cells.

There are many different vaccines in many different stages of development. There are ongoing studies now to determine the safety and effectiveness of melanoma vaccines. Currently there are no FDA-approved vaccines for treating melanoma.

Glossary

Blood Cell Growth Factors: Proteins produced by the body that stimulate the production of blood cells.
Chemotherapy: The treatment of cancer (or other disease) with chemicals that are toxic to the cancer cells.
Gene Therapy: A treatment that involves "fixing" a faulty gene so that it behaves normally.
Immune System: The body mechanisms that fight disease by recognizing and neutralizing foreign cells.
Immunotherapy: A form of therapy that stimulates the immune system to kill or control cancer cells. Also called biochemical therapy or biotherapy.
Interleukins: Special proteins released by the immune system to fight bacteria, viruses, and other foreign substances.
Melanoma: A highly malignant type of skin cancer that arises in melanocytes, the cells that produce pigment. Melanoma usually begins in a mole.
TNF: A protein produced by the immune system that improves the immune response and that can destroy some types of cancer cells.
Tumor: An abnormal mass of tissue that results from excessive cell division. Tumors perform no useful body function. They may either be benign (not cancerous) or malignant (cancerous).
Vaccine: A treatment that introduces small amounts of inactivated "foreign" substances into the immune system so that it can recognize and fight that substance during an active infection.