Common drugs used to prevent heart attacks and lower blood pressure may also increase survival rates of people living with melanoma -- the most deadly type of skin cancer -- a study has found. Patients with metastatic melanoma, or melanoma that has spread to other parts of the body, often have a poor prognosis, and while some forms of immunotherapy -- treatments that boost the body's immune system to fight disease -- are promising, response rates are less than 35 per cent.

The findings showed that melanoma patients who received immunotherapy while taking a specific type of beta blocker lived longer than patients who received immunotherapy alone. "Beta blockers slow your heart rhythm but they can also affect immune cells and improve immune function," said Todd Schell, Professor at the Pennsylvania State University.