Call with Dr. Myers - G9 going on 6 years

Eric had a biopsy in late December targeting known cancerous nodes in the inguinal area using the Sand Lake scans from April specifically for the purpose of getting tissue for molecular profiling. We had a call Wednesday evening to discuss the findings. It was very interesting, apparently Eric's Pca is still Androgen Receptor positive but only 40%. 90% is making a gene that would predict success for a chemo agent called Irinotecan which Myers said makes Taxotere look like a walk in the park. Unfortunately they did not have enough tissue to test for more agents and Myers would like to have more "targets" as he said that treatment theory dictates that every cancer that has been cured has been treated by 3 or 4 agents as each works by a different mechanism.
Caris, (the lab that does the molecular profiling), has apparently just this week introduced a next generation sequencing providing a dramatic increase of information from a sample, so we are in the process of scheduling another biopsy.
Another very interesting result is why Eric's cancer isn't more aggressive than it is. (last PSA was basically steady for a year at 3.1). Myers said that he has a gene that is putting a break on the cancer, it's usually lost in Pca at this stage but that has not happened. He said if it were lost the cancer would become "globally resistant". The gene is PTEN.
He feels that if we could identify 2 or 3 more targets we may be able to achieve a durable remission and he has advised that we hold off on the Dattoli treatment until we are able to obtain more information from the next molecular profiling results. He said this may be a circumstance in which Proton Beam therapy which has much more limited damage may work very well for the inguinal nodes which Dattoli is unable to treat and he has already been in contact with one of the major Proton Therapy centers about our case.
This is sort of a nutshell version of the conversation, he said that everything in Pca in working and changing incredibly fast right now.
I hope this update proves interesting to some of you. We are in a marathon but happy to have a "technician" with the intellect and passion of Dr. Myers and we are up for the challenge.
Happy Friday!
Amy

Amy,

First, great job. Being proactive can be very challenging, but good for you. Was/Is Eric still on HT?

I see Dr. Myers as well.

Jerry L.

JL - Eric was on HT from Sep 2009 to Sep 2010 in conjunction with chemo from Sep 2009 through Dec 2009 as well as anti-angiogenics, (Revelimid/Thalomid, Leukine). He has continued the AA but has not had any HT since he stopped in Sep 2010. This was all done through Leibowitz' "3-prong Therapy" protocol. The chemo agent was Abraxane, he was unable to tolerate Taxotere from the first 5 minutes of administration. Avastin was added during the last month but that was brutal.
It seems that Dr. Myers intends to use HT but is waiting until he has as much info as possible to formulate a comprehensive treatment plan. We are fortunate to have the luxury of a relatively stable PSA to allow time to develop the plan, but it looks like HT is in the not too distant future likely combined with a 2nd and possibly a 3rd agent as well.
We're certainly hoping for and looking forward to a day when all of this will pay off in the form of a durable long-term remission and, dare I say, perhaps even a cure.
In the meantime, we're enjoying and appreciating life daily and grateful to have a positive albeit not entirely certain path. ;)

You are getting cared for by one of the best PC doctors in the world. Personalized medicine at its best. Bright and happy future ahead of you, for sure.