Chilean scientists develop ointment to combat skin cancer

Chilean scientists have developed an ointment that early trials have proved effective in combating melanoma, the most aggressive variety of skin cancer, announced University of Santiago on Friday.

The cream, said the Chilean university, has been made by a research team from its Faculty of Chemistry and Biology and contains a plant that is endemic to the South American country.

It is currently in the early stages of testing and being applied to animals, and so far it has proved to be an effective solution for melanoma, according to Sofia Michelson, who along with Claudio Acuna led the research team.

Every year between two and three million people all over the world are diagnosed with melanoma, according to World Health Organization (WHO) figures.

"We are fighting melanoma because it is the most aggressive skin cancer. Also, other creams currently exist for treating skin cancer but they do not specifically treat this type," said Michelson.

The experts' main objective is to find a mechanism that can counteract the organism's progression before the presence of a tumor.

"The problem is that the human body does not react to tumors because they make bodies believe they are normal," Acuna explained. "For that reason, the idea was to find an immunological response for when a bacterial as well as a viral or parasitic infection appears."

The ointment is for external use and should be applied every third day for a period of about a month, during which the application zone should be protected, said the researchers.

The medication contains an extract of a shrub that can be found between the Chilean regions of Coquimbo in the north and Biobio in the south, they added, noting that the substance affects the viability of the tumor cells.

"We had already carried out other researches into treating melanoma cancer and, while searching for how to improve them, we found this compound," said Michelson.

The effectiveness of the treatment has been encouraging, noted the researchers.

After applying the ointment on animals, the researchers were able to more than double the animals' life expectancy compared to other conventional medicines.

"The ointment gives protection against tumor growth. For example, if before the life expectancy was seven days, now it is up to 24 days. There are also some examples that were able to successfully eradicate melanoma," added Michelson.

Another advantage of the treatment is its low cost, said the researcher, pointing out that there are already a lot of products available to fight general cancer, "but many of them are expensive." Endi