The worldwide study, which was led by the Institute of Cancer Research in the UK and published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, says that an artificially created virus called T-VEC can provide skin cancer patients with more efficacious treatment.

Clinical trials have been going on for more than three years in 64 centers across the US, UK, Canada and South Africa. If further studies are also successful, the new drug will be more widely available by next year, the scientists predict according to the Guardian.

T-VEC is a modified herpes virus which multiplies inside cancer cells until they burst open. After destroying the cancer cell, the virus gets into surrounding area and triggers a secondary immune reaction against the tumor.