HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

NIH and Radium 223

Support Forums
>
Prostate Cancer
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 11/16/2017 7:51 PM (GMT 0)
For the interest of readers, early this year I was a trial subject at NIH for the combo of olaparib and MEDI4736 NCT02484404. It initially worked and then stopped working but being at NIH was a great experience. I would be pleased to answer any questions.

Tall Allen, NIH suggested that I try Radium 223 for soft tissue cancer and that it was standard protocol now and paid for by insurance. It is based on antedocal evidence and my onc there was unable to refer me to a Study.

Have you heard of this new use?

Houseboy
Posted 11/16/2017 9:30 PM (GMT 0)
Houseboy-

I agree that NIH trials are the best. I only wish they would open an NIH West on the west coast, so patients here wouldn't have to travel so far. Do you have dual citizenship, or does NIH not care? Immunotherapies have been disappointing for PC in general so far. Like PARP inhibitors, they seem to work well for men who have certain extraordinary genetic characteristics. Identifying those characteristics is the main challenge.

No, I have never heard of Xofigo for soft tissue. Radium is chemically similar to calcium and gets incorporated as calcium would into rapidly growing bone tissue. But there are small amounts of calcium in all our cells, so I guess if they are rapidly replicating, as cancer cells are, they might do some good. I have not seen anything about its FDA approval for anything other than bone metastases.

I think a more fruitful approach might be one of the Lu-177-PSMA radiopharmaceuticals that will hook onto any prostate cancer cell expressing PSMA (about 95% of them). I'm very hopeful about this clinical trial at MSK:

/pcnrv.blogspot.com/2017/01/i-131-mip-1095-new-radiopharmaceutical.html

Going farther afield, Germany is at the forefront of radiopharmaceutical development, looking at a variety of radioactive elements attached to a variety of ligands (which have increasing affinity for only prostate cancer cells).

I think it makes sense for you to consider a re-challenge with one of the newer approved hormonal agents, Xtandi or Zytiga, or one of the new ones in clinical trials. Estrogen patches may work too.
Posted 11/17/2017 2:13 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks much Tall Allen. I am only a Canadian citizen so NIH does not seem to care, although they are strict on trial qualifications. They also paid my travel expenses from Canada. I have the FANTA gene as a PARP inhibitor but it was still not sufficient.

Given a PSA increase of less than 100 every 3 weeks (now 400) on carboplatin, I am about at the end of the road, although I am hoping to try a re-challenge with Zytiga.

Good Luck with your case.

Houseboy
Posted 11/18/2017 12:45 PM (GMT 0)
In Germany Lu-177 plus PSMA-617 is most often used by far. about 1000 patients have been treated. It works well and has few side effects. In Heidelberg they offer additional radiopharmaceuticals, these are even more effective but cause more side effects.

This is a description of the therapy: VIEW IMAGE

Here is a before and after PET/CT image: VIEW IMAGE

Mets will return though.

George

Post Edited (George_) : 11/18/2017 5:48:21 AM (GMT-7)

✚ New Topic ✚ Reply