Australian researchers claim to have made a ground-breaking melanoma discovery that could save the lives of cancer patients using a drug that is already widely available.

Scientists from the University of Queensland’s Diamantina Institute believe they have found a way to stop the spread of the aggressive cancer by blocking its growth through stem cells.

“We now know that the cancer basically talks with the blood vessels and attracts the stem cells out of the blood vessel and into the cancer environment,” Doctor Jatin Patel told 9News.

Australian researchers have claimed to be able to stop the spread of melanoma using a drug that is already widely available. (9NEWS)

Researchers from the University of Queensland say, with the use of a beta blocker already on the market, they can cut off blood supply to the cancer and starve it so that it doesn't grow. (9NEWS)

Dr Patel said a beta blocker already on the market can stop melanoma by cutting off blood supply to the cancer – starving it so that it can’t grow or spread.

“We’re able to show that this drug specifically targets those blood vessel stem cells and basically stops their path into the cancer, preventing the cancer from having blood vessels form inside it,” he said.

Clinical trials are expected to begin this year on a small number of patients, with researchers hoping the treatment will be widely available for melanoma patients within five years.