Leiomyosarcoma and with treatments being given it can be gut wretching difficult and unresponsive with the roller coaster ride taken from the time, hope and disappointment. Although when you consider the story From Incurable To Incredible and this great read from Tami Boehmer mention Yvonne Cooper of Cincinnati overcoming this very incurable through the Bill Peeples Protocol and Dr Elyse Lower at UC Barrett Cancer Center or the right doctor elsewhere that can be found in forums. http://www.solitarius.org/2013
William Peeples began his research into this subject late 1996, when his wife, Vera, was diagnosed with endometrial stromal sarcoma, stage IVa upon presentation. In early December, 1996, she was also scheduled for a total abdominal hysterectomy including removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes, an omentectomy and pelvic sidewall… reduction.
After completion of surgical staging, the surgeon closed the incision and stated that her cancer was inoperable. He further stated that chemotherapy and radiation would be ineffective. Vera was sent home with Bill to get her affairs in order.
Somehow, the Peeples family got through what they thought might be their last Christmas together. Bill had already lost several close family members to cancer and was now faced with the potential loss of his beloved wife.
In January 1997, Bill and his wife went to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for a second opinion. After three days of examinations they were again told that she had a rare and aggressive tumor that was not responsive to chemotherapy or radiation. Essentially, she still had no options. Bill and Vera went home.
Bill then began his all-out search for something that might help his wife. In his profession as a firefighter, he works the standard shifts, 24 hours on, 48 hours off. This schedule gave him the time he needed to pursue his research and fortunately the internet was in full swing.
Centering his research on the internet, he soon discovered angiogenesis and the potential it has for shrinking tumors. He immediately began giving Vera high doses of low potency angiogenesis inhibitors that could be purchased over the counter.
Also during this time, Vera began taking Megace, a prescription drug, in an attempt to slow down the tumor which was estrogen receptive. Megace is a synthetic derivation of progesterone which helps to lower estrogen.
On March 28, 1997, Bill and Vera went back to the oncology unit at the University of Miami’s Sylvester Cancer Treatment Center for a new CAT scan. At that time, the doctors found only scar tissue. Vera remains alive and healthy today.
Bill Peeples however, didn’t stop once his wife was safe. He continued his research over the next two years, and gradually formed the full picture of this combination cancer protocol.
Although Bill Peeples protocol may have helped Yvonne Cooper of Cincinnati and Bill’s wife Vera it may not be for everyone.
For Jeannie Ross It was November of 2008 when she was diagnosed with Uterine Leiomyosarcoma. Her lab report said it was Stage II/III with a mitotic count of 100 in a 10X magnification field.
The sky high mitotic count definitely downgraded my prognosis. Typically a mitotic count of 1-2 is low and 9-10 is high. My score of 100 indicated that the cancer had been multiplying rapidly. I was told I’d have a 50% chance to live 2 years, and a 27% chance to live 5 years. That’s when I immediately embarked on a total change of lifestyle, one that would nourish my physical body and create a pervasive sense of relaxation and well-being.
If I was going to ask my immune system to prevent this cancer from returning, I had to do my part by adopting the best practices to optimize my own body’s healing ability.
Stress produces hormones that can sabotage your entire healing program by interfering with the function of your natural killer cells, the ones that identify cancer cells and mark them for destruction. Your body chemistry reacts dramatically to your thoughts and your emotions. You may experience trouble sleeping, feel sick to your stomach, have difficulty thinking clearly, and suffer debilitating fatigue. Many health problems, especially cancer, do not permanently clear up unless the mental aspect is also addressed. The mind-body connection is powerful, and just as surely as your mind can make your body sick, it can make your body well.
My number one goal each day is to stay peaceful and calm inside, like it feels when you’ve just had a massage, or upon awakening from a deep and peaceful sleep. Guided imagery, affirmations and meditation help me to do this, along with walks in nature, acupuncture and deep breathing. My second job is to focus on the physiological and biochemical needs of my body – my nutrition, my supplements, my juicing, my exercise… and so much more. Since my diagnosis my body demands that I put my physical and emotional health first, and I don’t feel guilty about doing it. You will need to decide that your health is more important than anything else and that your full-time job is taking care of you. At first, this is all I want you to do.
Your mind can aid in making your body well, but you will need to be actively involved in the process. I recommend that you take time off from your job for at least one year after surgery. I waited two years before resuming part-time work. Right now your full-time job is to make yourself well. Weak mind and spirit means weak body.
You will begin a rigorous program of mind-body training, detoxification, and exercise. Time will be needed to shop for organic foods, juice vegetables, and prepare nutritious raw, vegan meals. My husband and my mother both remind me that my job is to focus on wellness, and everything else must be subservient to that goal.
Realize that when you entertain negative thoughts, your are effectively using negative guided imagery on yourself!
Background: a sarcoma is a type of cancer that develops from certain tissues such as bone or muscle. Bone and soft tissue sarcomas are the main kinds. Soft tissue can develop from tissues like muscle, nerves, fat, and blood vessels. They can be found in any area of the body, but most develop in the arms or legs. Sarcomas are not common tumors, most are the type of tumors called carcinomas. Not all sarcomas are cancerous; the term sarcoma means the tumor is malignant. There are more than fifty different types of sarcoma, including but not limited to; adult fibrosarcoma, clear cell sarcoma, epithelioid sarcoma, kaposi sarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, malignant mesenchymoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, and undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma.
(source: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/
Synovial sarcoma: it is one of the rarer forms, and can occur at any age but is more common among teenagers and young adults. Despite the name it is not related to the synovial tissues that are part of the joints. It is unknown whether this mutation occurs randomly or following a specific chain of events. The primary treatment for synovial sarcoma is surgery to remove the entire tumor with clear margins whenever possible.
This happens when healthy tissue surrounding the tumor is removed along with the tumor, making it more likely that all cancer cells have been removed from the area. Depending on the location and size of the mass, it may be difficult for a surgeon to remove adequate margins while preserving function. Radiotherapy or chemotherapy may also be recommended, especially in the advanced or metastatic stages. This is on a case by case basis, and is decided by the oncologist and the patient. The Prognosis is influenced by the quality of surgery that the patients receive and characteristics of the disease among other things.
(source: http://sarcomahelp.org/synovia
Leiomyosarcoma patients should turn to food to help recover.
These statistics show how many people can be diagnosed with cancers that are well known versus that of Leiomyosarcoma patients.
There are many cancers that affect the human body; some are well known by the entire world and some are rare. Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is a type of rare cancer that affects the muscle tissues of the human body. Smooth muscle cells make up the involuntary muscles, which are found in most parts of the body, including the uterus, stomach and intestines, the walls of all blood vessels, and the skin. It is therefore possible for LMS to appear at any site in the body. The first case of LMS was found in 1994, according to a Case Study done by the University of Ontario.
This cancer only accounts for 5%-10% of all soft tissue sarcomas. Famous people like Padma L. Atluri, a writer for 90210 and Men in Trees, and Katie Price (Jordan), an English media personality, both suffered from LMS. Cancer doesn’t discriminate who it will affect, there are plenty of treatment options for people suffering from LMS. Treatment options include traditional methods (surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy) and alternative methods (I.V. injections from Europe, herbal immune tinctures, and infrared sauna bed), both of which can benefit from a drastic diet change.
Brussels sprouts are one of the cruciferous vegetables recommended for LMS patients to eat. This delicious dish with brussels sprouts was made by a chef at a Fry’s Marketplace located in Phoenix, Arizona (Photo By Christina Thompson 2012).
When looking at the traditional methods of curing LMS, most doctors will say that surgery is the best option. Chemotherapy and radiation are there to help get the tumor small enough to operate on. “Radiotherapy may be a useful additive to improve local control or where cancer is inoperable. In some cases of high-grade leiomyosarcoma, chemotherapy may have a role to reduce the risk of recurrence or to improve operability. It is important to realize that the treatment of leiomyosarcoma is a complicated process. Associated with the treatment of the disease are the very real long-term sequels of these treatments in those in whom they establish a cure. The surgical sequel can be serious and immediately evident following a wide excision of primary tumors,” says the Virtual Medical Center.
The outcome and affects that each of these treatments have on a single person with LMS, all depends on their own immune system. When LMS patients chose surgery, their survival rate significantly increases to about 90% for five years. Rosalie Peipert, an LMS patient, wrote a blog about her struggles with this rare cancer. In the blog she says, “My tumors were hanging outside the lungs like icicles (spindle cells).
Almost 3 years later I had to have the same operation for 4 more nodes in both lungs.
This is a very painful surgery because it hurts to breathe in the beginning and sternum hurts from being opened. Only thing was the drugs hyped me up so badly, I never slept and couldn’t rest in bed. This time, I asked for someone to come down and see me from the Pain Clinic. It was a big help. I had an epidural and the PCA pump. I don’t know why my first surgeon did not tell me I didn’t have to suffer the way I did. I have never had chemo or radiation. I have a low grade LMS. I was very lucky that I could be a candidate for surgery.”Many patients with LMS are like Rosalie.
She goes on to say, “Update: April 2000…my fight is ongoing. I had surgery to remove a 7 cm retroperitoneal tumor on March 8, 2000. It was encapsulated and taken out. And No other tumors. It was LMS again. After almost 19 yrs, it returned to the scene of the original crime in the pelvic area. Update: March 2001. I had another recurrence in both my lungs. Update: November 2001… I have been on hormone therapy 9 months now and am stable. Update: 2006… June 24th, my family and I celebrated a duel anniversary, my 25th year of survival of low grade myxoid LMS/ESS and our 50th wedding anniversary.”The treatment options and life of people who get the diagnosis of Leiomyosarcoma; they have surgery or chemotherapy to get rid of the cancer and it will come back in a different area.
Whole, organic cranberries containing cancer fighting antioxidants purchased at Sprouts Farmers’ Market stores located in Phoenix, Arizona, can be turned into a great sauce for holiday meals (Photo By Christina Thompson 2012).
Although most doctors will say that traditional methods are the only way to cure LMS, there are new alternative methods being discovered all the time. Dr. Joe Brown, N.M.D., of Tempe, Arizona, offers LMS patients (along with many other cancer types) different treatment options besides the traditional methods. Dr. Brown’s website lists some of the options including: “Ukrain (Chelidonium Majus) I.V. Mixture, Immune Injection Therapy with Engystol, Acupuncture with Heat and Stimulation, and Oral Vitamin Supplementation.”
Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center are revolutionizing alternative cancer treatments by using Immunotherapy to help patients treat LMS and other cancers. Cancer immunotherapy attempts to stimulate the immune system to reject and destroy tumors. There are many types of cancer immunotherapy treatments. Wikipedia talks about one called, “Dendritic cells can be stimulated to activate a cytotoxic response towards an antigen.
Dendritic cells, a type of antigen presenting cell, are harvested from a patient. These cells are then either pulsed with an antigen or transfected with a viral vector. Upon transfusion back into the patient these activated cells present tumor antigen to effector lymphocytes (CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and B cells). This initiates a cytotoxic response to occur against cells expressing tumor antigens (against which the adaptive response has now been primed).
. The Dendreoncancer vaccine, Provenge, is one example of this approach.”Alternative treatment options are always being discovered to help patients cope with LMS, as well as other cancers.
Dr. Joe Brown, a Naturopathic M.D. out of Tempe, Arizona, talks about why alternative therapy treatments, a diet change, or a combination of all three methods of treatment are best for LMS patients.
These organic peppers containing some capsaicin can be bought at your local farmers market (Photo By Christina Thompson 2012).
Although there are alternative and traditional treatment methods, some people believe that a diet change can completely cure cancer. Doctors have done studies and they have found that it can help cure cancer along with a treatment method. “Up to 40% of cancer patients die from complications of malnutrition, not from the disease itself,” say Dr. David Katz and Dr. Keith Block.
Chef Nancy out of Santa Fe, New Mexico wrote a book and created a website dedicated to helping people with better nutrition and diets during cancer. The website says, “Chef Nancy creates recipes to keep you off the operating table and out of chemotherapy.”The website also offers a blog, in which Chef Nancy talks about different foods and vitamins that both support and take away from curing cancer. William W. Li, M.D., President and Medical Director of The Angiogenesis Foundation, created a post on the Dr. Oz website, where he talks about the best foods to go shopping for to cure cancer. The Cancer Cure Foundation also offers a page on their site about food and spices that can help fight cancer including garlic, broccoli, leafy greens, nuts, lemon, raspberries, and chili peppers like jalapenos.
“They found capsaicin, an ingredient of jalapeno peppers, triggers cancer cell death by attacking mitochondria – the cells’ energy-generating boiler rooms. The research raises the possibility that other cancer drugs could be developed to target mitochondria,” says an article published by the BBC. The American Institute of Cancer Research (AICR) has a page where they talk about, “how food can both directly and indirectly fight cancer.” AICR says, “Fill at least 2/3 of your plate with vegetables, fruit, whole grains and beans.” The diet choices made by individuals will help cure their cancer, be it LMS or another type.
These drinks are natural healthy drinks created by Bolthouse Farms and are located at any supermarket near you (Photo By Christina Thompson 2012).
The research being done to find a cure for Leiomyosarcoma or other cancers maybe in the diet choices a person makes. Traditional and alternative therapy methods of treating LMS are improved by proper diet choices. In the southwest, a person with LMS might want to shop at Sprouts, “an independent natural foods grocery store chain that focuses on “healthy living for less.” We sell farm-fresh produce and thousands of natural, organic and great-tasting mainstream foods at remarkably low prices, in a non-traditional farmers’ market-type setting.”
Another natural grocery store LMS patients can frequent located anywhere in the US for healthy foods and organic produce is Whole Foods Market. The Garden Fresh Restaurant Corporation created Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes restaurants to offer more healthy dining choices for people and would benefit people suffering from LMS or other cancers. “With 112 company-owned restaurants in 15 states, over 300 million guests since 1978 have helped us to be #1 in fresh produce and salads, made-from-scratch soups, hot-tossed pastas, freshly baked breads and muffins, fresh fruit, frozen yogurt, and more,” says the Sweet Tomato website. There are plenty of places for LMS patients to shop and eat healthy to help their cancer treatments across the US.
These are healthy grains that can be added to your diet to help fight LMS and they are located at your natural health food store (Photo By Christina Thompson 2012).
People who are diagnosed with Leiomyosarcoma may think that they or that their families are alone in dealing with this disease. This is not true because on Facebook, a page was created for LMS patients and their families called Leiomyosarcoma Awareness. LMS patients are not the only one searching for a cure for their cancer or disease; plenty of people are, especially in alternative therapies. One place a person might look is at Reddit, which has a subreddit for Alternative Health, where people post pages about possible alternative ways of curing diseases like LMS and other cancers. No one is alone in his or her fight to survive and cure cancer. Everyone is out there trying to find a cure, whether it’s by traditional, alternative, a combination of methods, or just eating healthier.
** Note: Please see your physicians for the right treatments for you or your loved one. This research was done 3 years ago and many new therapies and answers to help have come along. I am NOT a doctor; I am just a researcher that wanted to do a story on subject that is close to my heart.**
QUESTION:
What is good for treating leiomyosarcoma, a very rare form of cancer?
ANSWER:
Leiomyosarcoma is certainly an aggressive form of cancer, but not one that can’t be treated successfully.
It matters not what form of cancer a person has, the cause is virtually the same. Toxic microbes and parasites invade the body’s cells, stealing their food supply so the cells basically starve to death. These nasty little creatures also excrete a toxic waste that infects and poisons the body (this not some made up theory either, it’s been proven by research groups such as the Independent Cancer Research Foundation). To get rid of these toxic pathogens, you need to kill them and flush them out of the body, along with stimulating and building up the immune system. This is the best protocol for achieving this in my opinion…
Always remember: if seeking supplements and chemotherapy to test first. So many through the years I wish I had all the money back that I had put into supplements and they did me no good.
Among his many accomplishments, as co-investigator on national cooperative trials, Dr. Nagourney is recognized for the introduction of Cisplatin/Gemcitabine doublets in the treatment of advanced ovarian and breast cancers. Dr. Nagourney’s group originally reported the effectiveness of this same drug combo. . . for advanced bladder cancer at a research symposium in Washington DC, and ten years before it became the treatment of choice.
He is the founder and medical director of Nagourney Cancer Institute (formerly Rational Therapeutics) Clinical Professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. Also, he is a practicing oncologist and triple board certified in Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology and Hematology.
With more than 20 years experience in human tumor primary culture analyses, Dr. Nagourney has AUTHORED more than 100 manuscripts, book chapters and abstracts including publications in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gynecologic Oncology,The Journal of the National Cancer Institute. and British Journal of Cancer.
Dr. Nagourney has been featured on radio, local and national television outlets such as CNN, ABC World News Tonight, CNBC, Extra, Hard Copy, Fox 11 Los Angeles, KTLA5 & ABC7 (Los Angeles), WLWT5 & WCPO9 (Cincinati), 13WHAM (Rochester, NY) and major newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal, Orange County Register, and The Cincinatti Enquirer. He has also been featured internationally such as on Australian TV show Good Medicine, and Univision’s Primer Impacto.
He has lectured at many leading medical schools and centers such as Georgetown, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, NYU, Yale, University of Chicago, University of Maryland, Mount Sinai (NY) and internationally in countries such as Brazil, Netherlands and Mexico.
In March 2013, his book Outliving Cancer was released by Basic Health Publications. Outliving Cancer is Dr. Nagourney’s story of discovery, the biology of cancer and how best to treat it. I heard DR. Nagourney state, within the same type of cancer. With 3 different patients you can have three different cancer biologies given the body chemistry of the individuals (the science of life or living matter in all its forms and phenomena, especially with reference to origin, growth, reproduction, structure, and behavior.)
He has also served as a journal reviewer and on the editorial boards of several journals including Clinical Cancer Research, British Journal of Cancer, Gynecologic Oncology, Cancer Research and the Journal of Medicinal Food.
Before your treatment its important to verify which supplements may work for your body chemistry. AS well after the treatment to do blood work to get your nutrients balanced so your immune system is in working order.
The Research Genetic Cancer Center (RGCC) in Greece is an innovative lab which specializes in molecular and cell biology. Dr. Stegall considers their OncoStat Plus test to be an extremely powerful tool in his arsenal. The test, also referred to simply as the “Greek Test,” uses a blood sample to detect what are known as circulating tumor cells (CTCs) as well as cancer stem cells (CSCs). Both CTCs and CSCs are thought to be responsible for most of the cancer spread within the body. By detecting these cancer cells in the blood, a profile for each patient’s specific cancer cell types can be generated. These CTCs and CSCs are then tested against over 50 common chemotherapy drugs as well as approximately 50 natural substances to see which ones show the greatest potential effect on the circulating tumor cells and cancer stem cells.
The OncoStat Plus test is effective in several different patient populations:
- Patients with metastatic cancer who need to address cancer at its source
- Patients with non-metastatic cancer who want to survey their body for potential metastatic disease
- Cancer survivors who want to reduce their risk for developing a cancer recurrence in the future
Dr. Stegall orders the OncoStat Plus test as part of the initial workup. The sample is mailed to Greece, and results are generally back in two weeks from the day the sample is mailed. At this time, the treatment protocol can be altered if necessary, based on the test results obtained. https://drstegall.com/contact/
Dr. Merkle, Dr. Dyer, Dr. Yahle and Dr. Marchek have always been about helping Dayton residents and clients all over the U.S. reach optimal wellness.
At our Nutrition, Chiropractic, Acupuncture and Thermography office in Dayton, we believe that the pursuit for optimal wellness is an active process of making choices toward a more healthy existence.
 The Day Rosa was buried this rainbow came out over the coastline of Brighton UK where she lived. Some told me she worked her magic one last time to ease her family and friends mind. My friend Rosa Parkin, who died of cancer at age 43, was a magician, performer and also world traveller whose creative talents were matched by an incredible drive. In her 20s she began roving farther afield, particularly to India, where she travelled many times.
Rosa’s curiosity and wonder at the world drove her to explore, but much of what she accomplished in her life had no road map: she created artworks, shows, businesses, and new starts in different countries from nothing, over and over again, each time succeeding with aplomb. Her enthusiasm was infectious. When Rosa came into our Facebook group, she was bedridden with a 8cm tumor in her uterus.
In no time: through her own research and renewed vigor she was active again telling me that lemon haze cannabis oil and serrapeptase was her secret weapon against Uterine Leiomyosarcoma. In the nine months that I have known Rosa she tried different things stating, if she only can find a standardized batch of quality oil each time she ordered it. That it would be a big help into her healing.
In the end Rosa lost her battle due to mounting financial burden and the stresses one goes through knowing you may have to leave a 12 year old son behind. When I was in Oregon Memorial Day Weekend 2015 with Rosa this was a great fear of hers. Not being able to watch her son grow up. And I feel these fears also was detrimental to her healing. Stress will raise your cortisol levels and suppress your immune system.
 Another person I vividly remember is Jessica Ainscough who was a Facebook friend of Rosa’s who went by the self-coined nickname The Wellness Warrior. Jessica died on February 26, 2015 and her death was rattling to Rosa.
Jessica Ainscough was diagnosed with Epithelioid Sarcoma in her left arm in 2008 at the age of 22. According to her own account of the story she had an isolated limb perfusion (high dose chemotherapy just to the arm), but was advised by her oncologist after relapse that amputation, although possibly not a cure, was her best option for survival or living a long life. Jess didn’t think this was an ‘attractive option’ and she decided against it and turned to the Internet looking for better options, which is where she found Gerson Therapy.
Given her long term survivorship with this type of cancer Jessica wrote this 8 month before her death!
When I left you back in June to begin a period of self-care hibernation, my plan was to get my health back in tip top shape and then spend some time creating some awesome new stuff for you. The reality, however, is that I’ve spent the whole time focused on my health. For the last few months, I’ve been pretty much bedridden. Let me fill you in on what’s been going on with me …This year absolutely brought me to my knees. I’ve been challenged, frightened, and cracked open in ways I never had before. After my mum died at the end of last year, my heart was shattered and it’s still in a million pieces. I had no idea how to function without her, and it turns out my body didn’t either. For the first time in my almost seven year journey with cancer, this year I’ve been really unwell. I’ve lived with cancer since 2008 and for most of those years my condition was totally stable. When my mum became really ill with breast cancer, my cancer started to become aggressive again. After she died in October 2013, things really started flaring up. I’ve had scans to detect what’s going on in my body, and I can report that the disease is still contained to my left arm and shoulder, however I do have a big fungating tumour mass in that shoulder that’s causing me dramas. Over 10 months of non-stop bleeding from the armpit has rendered me really weak (and uncomfortable) and as a result I’ve had no choice but to stop absolutely everything and rest. With some feeling that her quilt from watching her mum die may have influenced Jessica’s negative outcome. https://respectfulinsolence. Also one person who I have little respect for and think even less of is Dr. David Gorski (who writes about science-based medicine under the name Orac), to which he explains to us calmly and with sensitivity, the medical view of the radically alternate route Jess (and her mother) took and whether he believes this may have cost them heir lives. Is my belief what Dr. Gorski should write about is the chances of survival with this type of cancer Jessica had with cut, burn and poison is slim to none. Jessica with Gerson Therapy. . . lived well for seven additional years For those who consider it is inappropriate to discuss such things so soon after her death, you may not want to read on. One needs to stay focused and think of themselves while healing. When I look back I also remember Dr. Tamara being of great reference with her knowledge, however always being on the go. Doctor T. as she was know to many on Facebook succumb to colon cancer on June 1st 2015. Not because from a lack of awareness and also knowledge but the stress load she had was out of this world. Always trying to help others while neglecting her own well being. |
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Posted: Wed 4:45 PM, Dec 13, 2017 |
By Maureen McFadden
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have created a vaccine that has shown some impressive results in a phase I trial, with few minor side effects. Now, they are working on making the vaccine even more effective.
For a decade, Tiffany O’Keefe was not sure she would be playing games with her kids at age 45. In 2004, she was diagnosed with sarcoma in her lung. Despite chemotherapy, surgery and radiation, it came back four times. That’s when a doctor proposed a clinical trial for LV305.
“I hadn’t done much research,” Tiffany says. “I was nervous, but I think I was ready for anything other than chemotherapy.”
Tiffany received three sets of injections in 2014. Her tumors started to shrink. Then, a year later…
“That’s when things really started to shrink, and now she’s had over 80 percent of her tumor shrink away,” says Doctor Seth Pollack, assistant member of the Clinical Research Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. “And she’s over three years out from her vaccination.”
LV305 reprograms the immune system to fight cancer cells. Pollack says patients in the phase I trial seem to be living longer with few side effects, so researchers added a booster in a follow up study.
“Not only would the reprogrammed immune system fight the cancer, but an extra dose of the cancer target would be injected to the patients to get a little more oomph to the vaccine,” he says.
Pollack says those patients are also living longer. The vaccine’s success is making Tiffany rethink her life.
“Yeah, I actually have to think now,” she says. “I might have to think about the future, what I’m going to do in retirement.”
And, she is excited to get the chance to finish raising her kids.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center doctors and therapy developer Immune Design are pushing forward with more improvements for the vaccine. Immune Design just announced a randomized phase III trial that will include the vaccine, the booster, and a drug that blocks an immune checkpoint. The CMB305 trial should open next year.
Medical breakthroughs
Research summary
Topic: vaccine for sarcoma reprograms immune system
Report: mb #4345
http://www.wndu.com/content/news/LV305-vaccine-helps-patients-with-synovial-sarcoma-463981073.html
Breelyn Wilky, MD, an associate professor of Medicine, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Care, University of Miami Health System, discusses the design of a phase II trial investigating concurrent axitinib (Inlyta) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with advanced alveolar soft part sarcoma and other soft tissue sarcomas.
Immunotherapy has dramatic responses for patients with sarcoma but it doesn’t work for everyone, states Wilky. One of the reasons oncologists believe immunotherapy may not be as successful is the potential problem of getting the immune cells into the tumor. The immune cells must be in the right location for them to be activated by the checkpoint inhibitors.
Research has been done to demonstrate that VEGF also has direct effects in shutting down the immune system in tumors. The concept of this phase II trial was to use a VEGF blocker to allow immune cells into the tumor and then use the checkpoint inhibitor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR-sqscSt1I
This treatment entails converting a virus into a therapeutic agent to treat diseases. These types of therapies have shown many promising results in different countries, however it is unavailable here in the U.S. We will need to travel to a different country and pay out of pocket for this treatment, which is something that we cannot afford. In addition to the Rigvir, doctors strongly suggest we complete Rigvir along with a series of other alternative treatments because of the severity of my mothers diagnosis. For these reasons, we have chosen to travel to Mexico, the closest destination that provides the treatment my mother so desperately needs.
Illustration of Muhammad Ali defeating Sonny Liston
Hope this helps.
All the best. 🙂
