Auckland University scientists have received one million dollars to advance skin cancer treatments

The team's using the Winn Trust grant to find a cure for melanomas caused by an NRAS gene mutation - found in up to 20 percent of cases.

They hope to start clinical trials in about five years.

Pharmacology professor Stephen Jamieson says more immunotherapy drugs have become available in recent years - but many patients don't respond to these.

He says if you have this mutation and don't respond to immunotherapy, you have limited treatment options - so there's a real urgent need here.