Beginning a Trial

[jal1954]

My PCa goes back to 2007, and I had radiation in early 2008. Recurrence in late 2012 and had salvage surgery in 2013. PSA near zero, but started upward in 2015. I was referred to a medical oncologist who ordered scans and put me on a regimen of POMI-T, zyflamend, and metformin. No joy, so added Lupron. That had minimal effect, so the next step was to be one of those the established treatments. From Dec 16 to now, one continued Lupron, but based on independent study, and knowledge learned here, we added Honokiol and Turkey Tail mushroom extract.

A spot opened for me in a trial for nanoparticles of Taxotere, CRLX-301. I will begin the infusions next week. The scans showed some progression, including bone mets. However, my PSA decreased from 32 to 28. The doc (at the trial center) said PSA was just a marker. Ok, the scans got worse over a year, but I started the supplements in Dec, so maybe the supplements lowered the PSA and had some therapeutic effect?

In any case, I'm optimistic about the trial and grateful that I got in. I welcome your comments.

John

[efsculpt]

Please keep us posted on how the trial goes.

Thanks,

Craig

[Hidden]

taxotere is FDA approved for PC. What is CRLX-301?

What means "just a marker"? An effect, not a cause?

[jal1954 in reply to Hidden]

CRLX-301 is the nanoparticle formulation of taxotere. It is in trial, and not yet approved.

"Just a marker" means that this doctor considers the PSA value a secondary indicator, less valuable than the scans.

[jal1954]

This is the trial. mdanderson.org/patients-fam...

[jal1954]

Greetings. I completed two infusions without incident or serious side effects. I had to skip the third infusion due to lowered neutrophil count. I returned this week for clearance to continue, and to receive the next infusion.

Instead the trial doc told me that the trial was being terminated. The company, Cerulean, went bust and was being acquired. They sold off all interest to CRLX-101 and CRLX-301 to pay down their debt.

Now it's back in limbo and not knowing what the next step will be. Very disconcerting.

Best, John