Tarceva - No response

• By Chanwit
• Posted December 22, 2007 at 10:44 pm
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Hi Kathy,
Since you are open to new ideas and clinical trials, I responded to someone else a few days back with this:

The Nov issue of LifeExtension magazine had some interesting articles about a Novel Cancer Treatment Program:

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2007/mag2007_11.htm


The International Strategic Cancer Alliance approach to cancer treatment is different; the ISCA analyzes each individual's tumor cells to pick the right treatment. The phone number at the end of the article is 610-628-3419 for Free Consultation.
.
The article says that patients will not be accepted if cancer is too far advanced and you have to be able to travel to one of their locations.

I don't know more than the article. It's just FYI.

As far as Alimta is concerned, I remember Dr. West said it was on the 'short list' of approved drugs. I guess that means that after all the others are crossed off the list, there you have Alimta.
It didn't work for my wife but everyone is different.
It would be great if there was an individualized test that could tell you ahead of treatment if a drug has a chance of working. (like the ISCA analysis).
Alimta will drag you down for a few days with extreme fatique. Good luck with that.
Take care, Chanwit.

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• By kosby
• Posted December 23, 2007 at 10:56 am
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Thank you so much for this information. When I was first dx I did a great deal of research and thought I would be gone by now. I now as long as the fight is there within me, there may be options to keep on trying things.

I have a reat onc now and he is reaching out to some oncs to determine the best route for me. I have an appt. this coming Friday and I will talk with him about the info you have given me. Of course, I will make up my own mind inmaking the decision - my whole life I have lived on the edge and have been a risk taker.

Happy holidays and a blessed New Year.

Kathy

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• By gpawelski
• Posted December 23, 2007 at 11:37 am
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Endothelial growth factor (EGF) is an important activator of angiogenesis. Like the name indicates, EGF causes endothelial cells to grow. EGF causes angiogenesis by attaching to special receptors, proteins on the outside of cancer cells that act like doorways (EGFR), and this action starts a series of chemical reactions inside the cell. Because EGF is so important to angiogenesis, it is a target of new cancer treatments. For example, the drug bevacizumab (Avastin) blocks a receptor for EGF.

Iressa and Tarceva are "targeted" therapies in that they halt the growth of certain cancers by zeroing in on a signaling molecule critical to the survival of those cancer cells. The two drugs work specifically in patients whose cancer contain mutations in a gene that encodes the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). However, the two drugs are effective in about 10% of patients with NSCLC.

Although these targeted therapies are initially effective in this subset of patients, the drugs eventually stop working, and the tumors begin to grow again. This is called acquired or secondary resistance. This is different from primary resistance, which means that the drugs never work at all.

Patients who have been through several chemotherapy regimens and are running out of options might want to consider an assay test that "profiles" their own, individual biological makeup. It might help you find the best option or save you from fruitless additional treatment.

In many cases a new drug has been approved on the basis of a single very very narrow indication. But these drugs may have many useful applications - and it's going to take years to find out. Very new bio-marker assays offer a way of seeing if any of these new drugs might apply to your specific cancer.

Conventionally, oncologists rely on clinical trials in choosing chemotherapy regimens. But the statistical results of these population-based studies might not apply to an individual. For many cancers, especially after a relapse, more than one standard treatment exists.

My point with respect to this systematic procedure is to educate patients and others that such techniques exist, and might be very valuable. It's up to the individual patient.

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• By jyuan
• Posted December 23, 2007 at 12:34 pm
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"Although these targeted therapies are initially effective in this subset of patients, the drugs eventually stop working, and the tumors begin to grow again."

Somehow I think the way you put was premature. Do you have any data or scientific paper or doctor's words or fact to prove it? It gave me the same feeling that "you only have one year to live", though any of my doctors have never said any discouraging words to me.

Jing

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• By gpawelski
• Posted December 23, 2007 at 1:01 pm
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PLoS Medicine, February 22, 2005
Clinical Investigators at NCI
Eur J Clin Invest 37 (suppl. 1):60, 2007
American Society of Clinical Oncology

As with most "targeted" therapy drugs, they do not necessarily benefit "every" patient and it is expensive. Until now, there were no tests that existed to show reliably who would benefit from these agents.

Every cancer patient should have his/her own unique chemotherapy trial based on consultation of pathogenic profiles and drug sensitivity testing data.

Research and application of these tests are being encouraged by growing patient demands, scientific advances and medical ethics. These tests are not a luxury but an absolute necessity, and a powerful strategy that cannot be overlooked.

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• By skiergirl
• Posted December 23, 2007 at 3:24 pm
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Kosby -

I also did not respond to Tarceva. My cancer spread to bones, liver and lymph nodes.
Now, I am on Alimta, and it has worked wonders for me. The cancer is gone everywhere except my right bronchus (where it started). My success has been phenominal. It probably won't last forever, though I've been on Alimta since Aug. 8, and the side effects are tolerable (fatigue and slight aches). I don't know if there's a test to see if it will work for you. We just tried it as my third line treatment, and it worked.
Good luck to you.
Kim

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