Chemo teamed with ADH-1 found effective in treating melanoma tumors

Durham, N.C. - A new study suggests that chemotherapy is more effective on melanoma tumors if a protein commonly found in the growth can first be disabled, HealthDay News reports.

Researchers at the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center found that the drug ADH-1, which inhibits cells from properly bonding to each other, helped chemotherapy completely destroy tumors in twice as many patients as did chemo alone.

Sixteen patients suffering from regionally advanced melanoma participated in the pilot study. In eight patients, the tumors disappeared completely. Without ADH-1, the study notes, patients generally have complete responses about 25 percent to 35 percent of the time.

“These early results really speak to the importance of developing combination therapies,” the study’s lead author said in a prepared statement. “Earlier animal results showed that using ADH-1 alone was not an effective treatment, but in combination with chemotherapy, the results, both pre-clinically and clinically, have been very exciting.”