SA Researchers Discover Breakthrough Treatment To Stop Aggressive Melanoma

The University of South Australia is working on a new injection which could save thousands of Australians from melanoma every year.

Australia has the highest rates of melanoma in the world, with 50 people diagnosed every day with the fatal skin cancer.

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Researchers at the Centre for Cancer Biology (an alliance between SA Pathology and the University of South Australia), have discovered a new protein which accelerates the spread of melanoma.

“The identification of this protein is a major breakthrough in preventing the spread of this disease”, said Professor Claudine Bonder, Head of the Vascular Biology and Cell Trafficking Laboratory Centre for Cancer Biology, University of South Australia.

“Our research team is developing new detection tools and targeted treatments that will be specifically tailored to deactivating this protein

“Our initial lab work has shown how to identify and block DSG-2 using nanotechnology. By injecting a cancer cell-seeking molecule, we can find these melanoma cells and attack them,” she said.

Professor Bonder said that targeting the Desmoglein-2 on the melanoma cells shows that the cancer cells are less likely to survive.

"They'll be like a heat-seeking missile that can be injected into the blood," she told Nine.

"We would hope to save one to three Australians every day.

"And the beauty is it's not just confined to melanoma. So advances that we make here will also be important for other cancer types," Prof Bonder said.

The vaccine is set to be unveiled within five to ten years in a bid to wipe out dangerous cancer cells, which kill three to four Australians every day.

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