PD1 staging study…….big news or more noise?

[cthornton]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140602155702.htm

Being a stage IV patient this is one of those articles that can get one very excited about the precision of future treatment or it can lead to unrealistic expectations. I am not able to effectively assess it. I will be trying to get my oncologist to look at it….and as much as I do trust him….it is only one opinion…..any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

[Catherine Poole]

That absolutely makes sense, is from one of our scientific advisory board members. This is why we would like to see this therapy available in stage 3 disease. The consensus of a large group at ASCO is most therapies will work well on a low burden of disease.

[Violeta]

Hi cthornton , hi Catherine,

I read also about these findings, for example this asco abstract:

Baseline tumor size as an independent prognostic factor for overall survival in patients with metastatic melanoma treated with the anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody MK-3475.

http://meetinglibrary.asco.org/content/134724-144

My sister has big ulcerated tumors on the left arm (try to imagine 2-3 oranges on the upper arm, plus other many smaller). She did not respond nor to Yervoy, neither to Nivolumab. The only successful drugs for her were Brafi, but she got resistant also first time and also during rechallenge. We recently asked the doctors in Brussels about the option of MK 3475, but they do not recommended it in her case. I trust this opinion as far as concern my sister. I know her disease by hard. It is not likely her tumors (too big and aggressive) will be shrunk by immunologic treatment. In the rest of the body she had no significant metastasis/tumors. But the problems which are coming from the arm tumors (pains, infections, bleeding, anemia, hypercalcemia) are enough to kill her.

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