Breakthrough melanoma drug expected to get TGA approval in Australia

30 Australian adults are diagnosed with melanoma every single day. 1,200 Aussies die directly from the disease each year, with many more fighting other cancers as a result. In some of the best news about the topic in a long time, a new frontline treatment is likely to get approval for use in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA).

Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows Keytruda significantly improves survival rates and is also better at shrinking tumours and has fewer side effects than current drugs used in melanoma treatment.

News Corp Australia has reported that the drug is likely to be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, too.

Professor Grant McArthur from Melbourne’s Peter McCallum Institute said the data shows it’s a significant step forward in treatment.

“And it is not just melanoma, with good data emerging in lung cancer, bladder cancer, head and neck cancer showing some promise,” He told News Corp earlier today.

So tell us, would you like to see this drug become available in Australia? Have you had melanoma before? What treatment did you undergo?