Current status of immune therapy

[Shepard]

What is the status of immune therapy for treatment of prostate caner? Several years ago it was prominent in the news; now seldom mentioned other than Xofigo which is not a primary treatment, but rather palliative for pain.

[Hidden]

Xofigo is not considered palliative since it does extend life, although only by a few months typically.

Prostate cancer is considered to be immunologically "cold" meaning the tumors are difficlut to penetrate. The only approved immunotherapy at this time is Provenge (sipuleucel-T). There are ongoing clinical trials for other drugs. Here is a search:

clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/resu...

[Tall_Allen]

Xofigo is a radiopharmaceutical. Provenge is the only immunotherapy approved for metastatic and castration-resistant PC. Keytruda is only approved for a rare genomic trait. Many are in clinical trials, often in combination with other medicines.

[Avanat]

My husband, (Stevana on this site), is in a Phase 2 clinical trial of an immunotherapy drug (Nivolumab/Opdivo). He just had his 2nd treatment last week which is an infusion of Nivolumab, then an hour break where he takes Dexamethasone then an infusion of Docetaxel. This treatment is every 3 weeks for 6 cycles then he will go every 28 days for infusion of Nivolumab only for approximately 2 years. He also has monthly injections of Firmagon. He chose Firmagon in place of Lupron for ADT. He will have a bone scan and MRI at different intervals throughout the trial.

Since going on ADT in April his PSA has steadily gone down and as of last week is now at .23. There are many clinical trials of immunotherapy drugs so hopefully one of these trials and combinations will show promise. My husband is tolerating the side effects fairly well although we know it may get harder the more chemo treatments he has. I should also mention that my husband’s genetic tests did not show any genetic abnormalities.

Here is the link to the clinical trial he is on:

clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show...

[Shepard in reply to Avanat]

Does he receive the infusions at his local cancer treatment center? I am not in a position to travel and significant distance from Arkansas. Thanks for the info.

[ctarleton in reply to Shepard]

If an Arkansas location is a really hard constraint, this clinical trial may be the closest match for a currently-recruiting trial involving prostate cancer and a couple of immunotherapy agents.

clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show...

The "Locations" section contains contact info for Mercy Hospital Fort Smith and for CHI Saint Vincent Cancer Center Hot Springs.

[Avanat in reply to Shepard]

Yes, he receives his treatment at our local cancer center, Moffitt, in Tampa. I just read some of your previous posts and I see you’ve been dealing with advanced prostate cancer for a few years. Stories like yours and others here give me hope. I wish you many more years!

[pleinairpainter]

Hello Shepard,

I am participating in a Phase Two of a CAR T Cell Immunotherapy Clinical Trial in Philadelphia. After screening and assessing my blood, tissues, etc. and after chemical failure for ADT (Casodex, Zytiga, etc) and Chemo (Docetaxel), it was determined I was eligible for the Tmunity's Phase Two (after Pilot). Here are two links, the first to an overview of immunotherapy from November 2019: researchgate.net/publicatio... and second a link to Tmunity's website (You will need to navigate the website. The website's clinical trial link does not seem to be working.): tmunity.com

Briefly, three weeks ago my T Cells and plasma were collected via lymphapheresis. The morning of my apheresis, a catheter was placed through my neck and threaded to my heart (it had been determined to collect the blood cells this way rather than using the veins in my arms.) Then I was taken to a room for the apheresis and, after three-four hours, collection was complete. (They warmed the blood on route to its return to me.) I was returned to surgery where the catheter was removed. All painless and uneventful, they advise you to take it easy for a couple of days. I was back to light regimen of exercising the next day. Another link with useful information on apheresis: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi... The Tmunity's lab rep was at the hospital to freeze and transport my T Cells and plasma to their lab, just outside of Philadelphia. Currently my T Cells are undergoing modification in the lab as explained in the Research Gate link above. If all goes well, the "Product" (CART-PSMA-TGFβRDN cells or Ninja T Cells as I call them) will be re-introduced to my body starting October. First to "make room" for the Product I will undergo chemo for three to four days to destroy some of my own white blood cells and other immune cells. The following Monday, I will be admitted to the hospital's for infusion of the Ninja T-Cells. There are some risks involved and I will be hospitalized for up to two weeks to be watched and monitored. After discharged, I am to self-quarantine for up to 90 days. If the Ninja cells bind to my cancer, they may be able to attack them. Also, the Ninja cells should remain as part of my blood for my lifetime, which I hope is a long time. In this trial they will be specifically looking at dosage. All the men involved will be receiving Product, no placebo, it is a matter of how much.

[SPEEDYX in reply to pleinairpainter]

All the best🙏...keep us up to date!

[pleinairpainter in reply to SPEEDYX]

Thanks SPEEDYX! Will keep you all posted.

[henukit in reply to pleinairpainter]

Oh, man! You're at frontier and should name your profile car-t-pioneer. Ninja T-cells! Best wishes and hope it works well as intended. Thanks for posting!

[Currumpaw]

Hey Shepard!

This admission and advice going public was a slip up after after the success of the HEP-C drugs.

“Is curing patients a sustainable business model?” Goldman ...

arstechnica.com/tech-policy......

One-shot cures for diseases are not great for business—more specifically, they’re bad for longterm profits—Goldman Sachs analysts noted in an April 10 report for biotech clients, first ...

There it is above! The link and it's intro--

Davincis would be idle. Surgeons you figure that one. Radiologists? Chemo? HIFU? FLA? CRYO? Empty hospital rooms. The pharmaceutical manufacturers that make all the other drugs that men with prostate cancer take? Even "supportive industries"--adult diapers for one!

Jimmy Carter at his age and within weeks of his demise? God bless him! It can be done can't it? He wasn't a good candidate to choose at all. Again, God bless him! He overcame the odds.

We are all specks of sand on the beach.

I would hope the revelation in the link will help us get past any manipulation by financiers and lobbyists to steer the advancement of science in treating disease driven by profit rather than a sincere desire to eradicate disease.

Currumpaw

[Shepard in reply to Currumpaw]

There have been times over the past ten years when I feel like I am viewed as an annuity!

[pleinairpainter]

fmenninger posted this today: Fierce Biotech's news summary of immunotherapies for prostate cancer: fiercebiotech.com/biotech/f...

[henukit]

Keytruda is FDA approved for PCa with certain mutations like MSI. I was able to get approved for treatment in spite the fact we didn't find any qualified mutations. Many researchers believe there are many more mutations that can make prostate cancer immunotherapy sensitive, we just not discovered them yet. That's why it's worth trying.

I'm still alive although was literally on the brink prior to starting therapy (cancer started rapidly metastasizing to brain). We don't know how much of survival impact specifically from Keytruda as I went through radiation just prior and am taking PARP inhibitors at the same time.