According to researchers, patients with advanced melanoma have lived longer when they receive a new drug as compared with the current treatment.

The researchers said that clinical trials recorded a one-year survival rate for 74% of patients taking Keytruda with 58% of those on Yervoy. For the study, 834 patients from around the world who had advanced melanoma have been examined by the researchers. As per experts, melanoma kills an Australian every six hours.

According to the researchers, it has been found that anti-PD-1 antibody pembrolizumbab (Keytruda) prolonged survival and also had less side-effects and less high-grade toxicity than ipilimumbab (Yervoy). The researchers said that the new drug also helped to decrease the size of the tumours in about 70% of the patients.

"These results are world-first, where two effective immunotherapies are directly compared, and we significantly improve outcomes for patients even further", said associate Professor Georgina Long from the Melanoma Institute Australia.

According to Long, it is too early to understand how long a person could survive. On the new drug, 30% of patients had no tumour shrinkage and trials were being performed on them. Macquarie University's Professor Rick Kefford said that this breakthrough may be the most vital development in the treatment of this disease. The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Supporting results from clinical trials of Keytruda means that the drug might be soon listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. According to the study, Keytruda is also better at shrinking tumours. As per Professor Grant McArthur from Melbourne's Peter McCallum Institute, this data shows that it is an important step forward in the treatment.