Gene threrapy developed for skin cancer

Rome -- Italian researchers say they have developed a new treatment for skin cancer using gene therapy.

The developers say the gene therapy, which has been successful in testing with mice, is 10 times more effective than existing treatments, ANSA said Friday. The research is published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

The treatment, which was developed by Italian biotechnology company MolMed, is undergoing clinical trials at Milan's San Raffaele hospital. MolMed Chief Executive Officer Claudio Bordignon said the new therapy uses white blood cells called lymphocytes to penetrate the lymph nodes where tumors typically proliferate.

He told ANSA it would take at least a year to have definitive data.

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