I'm glad the Taxotere is finally starting to kick in. I read somewhere that in about
20% of the cases, it just takes a while. Sometimes Jevtana works when Taxotere doesn't.
Sonny was going for an NIH study where they do a genetic profile of some biopsied tumor tissue. They are hoping to find some rare and weird genetic variants that may be responsible for some drugs not working. If they find some, there may be some other kinds of drugs they can use.
NIH - MATCH genetic studyI think Keytruda is great stuff! It is already approved for melanoma and lung cancer. The reason why a lot of immune therapies eventually stop working is because they start recognizing the cancer as healthy cells and allow them to go unimpeded. Keytruda shuts off a protein called PD-1 on the surface of T cells that would otherwise cause them to misinterpret the cancer cells as "self" cells and prevent any further attacks by the immune system. There are other immunotherapies (e.g., Ipilimumab), called "checkpoint inhibitors," that work in a similar way, so if you don't get in on that clinical trial, there are others. NIH also is running trials of Prostvac (an immune activator) that look promising.
The downside of all medicines that stimulate the immune system or prevent it from shutting off is that it can be over-stimulated. They monitor patients closely for this because it can be life threatening.
UW Seattle has a well-deserved great reputation, and runs a lot of clinical trials. Celestia Higano, in particular, is one of the top prostate oncologists.
- Allen