Immune system and melanoma

National report - Two teams of U.S. researchers have been able to manipulate immune cells to apparently stop skin cancer from progressing, according to News-Medical.net/.

One study found it possible to suppress the Tregs cell, which controls the number of T cells, by blocking the activity of a protein on the cell's surface, leaving other parts of the immune system free to attack.

A second study found that when patients with advanced melanoma were given a drug combination of the diphtheria toxin and interleukin 2 to knock out T-regulatory cells, tumors shrank or remained stable in five of seven patients. All seven remained alive 12 months after treatment.