A major step forward for predicting how melanoma patients respond to treatment

Otago University research has identified epigenetic differences which correlate significantly with patient responses, to immunotherapy treatment, Keytruda.

Epigenetics refers to how your behaviours and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work.

It could mean more precise treatment for people with the skin cancer.

Lead researcher Mike Eccles says they're now interested in looking into the same thing for other cancer types.

He says the possibility of responding to these treatments in some other types is lower than melanoma - showing how important the research can be.