A clinical trial has shown patients with advanced skin cancer respond well to immunotherapy drug Cemiplimab.

Australian doctors have made a breakthrough in the treatment of patients with advanced skin cancer.

Patients with this type of cancer have a poor prognosis and currently there are no approved targeted therapies for this disease.

Immunotherapy drug Cemiplimab has now been shown to work, offering hope to patients.

A phase II clinical trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed nearly half (47 per cent ) of the 59 patients on the trial had a good response.

Professor Danny Rischin at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, who led the trial, said the response was rapid, sustained and very well tolerated.

"Cemiplimab demonstrated very striking activity in patients... was well tolerated and we expect this will become the standard of care for patients," said Prof Rischin, who announced the trial results a oncology conference in Chicago on Tuesday.