Discontinuing Provenge in lieu of Covid 19; 2 out of 3 treatments.. still effective?

[Lynsi13]

My dad and I were set to go to Cleveland today for his final Provenge treatment. However he received a call last night from Dendreon (the lab that makes Provenge) that his cells did not meet quality standards and would not be shipped.

I called his oncologist in Cleveland and she was very emphatic that we discontinue his Provenge treatment; that the risk of him contracting the virus was not worth the potential gain from the final Provenge treatment.

While I'm very relieved that he isn't going to be additionally exposed, I'm disappointed that he's not going to receive his final treatment.

Is there any data that shows that two rounds of Provenge is sufficient? I've heard it likened to a vaccination with the additional treatments being "boosters" in a sense. Can anyone comment on that?

And now, we're faced with trying to get his double lumen dialysis port removed in a world where non-essential surgeries are not being scheduled.

If anyone has any advice or words of encouragement for me, I could certainly use it! Thanks so much!

[Hidden]

I'm by far the expert but I know of several men who stopped Provenge after two infusions. I had three and have no idea if it helped. I guess it's a matter of the risk out weighting the possible benefit. Try not to stress, there is nothing you can do about it.

[Lynsi13 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you! I'm trying not to stress... I'm trusting that it is in his best interest to forego the final treatment as he and my mother are high risk for the virus. It's just disappointing! Nevertheless, we're grateful for the two treatments and for doctors who care about his health!

[Tall_Allen]

It sounds like they did not capture enough dendritic cells? If that is the case, giving him more time to recover may be good. Provenge enhances the immune system after reinfusion, but for a while, after dendritic cells are removed and before reinfusion, his immune system may be depleted if he doesn't make a lot of dendritic cells.

[Lynsi13 in reply to Tall_Allen]

Really, I don't know. The words they used were "the cells were not of a satisfactory quality" to be used. They didn't mention anything about volume. And, it sounds like we're just ending the treatment at this point. Will the treatment still have benefits from the previous two doses?

[Tall_Allen in reply to Lynsi13]

Probably some, but the studies on it were done with 3 doses.