Australian cancer specialist Richard Scolyer dies at 59

Richard Scolyer, the Australian cancer specialist who became a test case for an experimental treatment after being diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour, has died aged 59, prompting tributes to a researcher whose work helped transform melanoma care.



He died on Sunday night, Australian media reported.



Scolyer, a pathologist and co-medical director of Melanoma Institute Australia, was named joint 2024 Australian of the Year with his longtime collaborator Georgina Long for advances in immunotherapy that have helped make advanced melanoma a treatable disease for many patients.



Diagnosed in 2023 with glioblastoma, one of the deadliest brain cancers, Scolyer agreed to a world-first approach that applied lessons from melanoma treatment to his own tumour.



The treatment included immunotherapy before surgery, an approach designed by Long and a team seeking to provoke an immune response against the cancer.



A clinical trial using the treatment began in the U.S. earlier this year.



Scolyer publicly documented the illness, saying in a letter released after his death that he had spent his final years being open about glioblastoma to show what cancer patients and families endure and to offer hope that researchers should keep pushing boundaries.