A new study has found breakthrough in skin cancer treatment. According to researchers of the study, they found excellent results from a Phase III trial. During the trial, they used a genetically modified version of a virus which causes cold sores. It was used to kill the cancer cells in people with inoperable tumors, the researchers said.

The researchers said that out of 26% participants who responded to the herpes virus treatment called T-Vec, tumors of about 10% disappeared without any trace. The remaining 16% of the patients saw a partial remission. The size of their tumors was removed more than 50%, as per the researchers.

The researchers said the treatment destroys the cancer cells from within by growing in them. It also produces a molecule that allows the immune system to destroy the remaining cancer cells.

Kevin Harrington, professor at the Institute of Cancer Research in London and lead researcher of the Phase III trial, said there is no doubt that the new treatment is a first-class agency to treat cancer.

T-Vec is among the new generation of virus-based drugs. It is the first drug which showed real potential in the Phase III trial. During the trial, the researchers modified the virus in a way that is not harmful for patients. According to them, they saw that the virus was not able to multiply in healthy skin cells.

Professor Paul Workman, chief executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, said, "We may normally think of viruses as the enemies of mankind, but it's their very ability to specifically infect and kill human cells that can make them such promising cancer treatments".

According to reports, more than 13,000 people in the United Kingdom are diagnosed with malignant melanoma every year while more than 2,100 people die from the disease.