Low Red Cell Count

[Pmann]

Morning folks,

I wanted to provide an update on my journey.

Dropped from clinical trial at Sarah Cannon Research in early May due to disease progression after three treatments of Phase 1 trial drug and one dose of Keytruda.

Started dual chemo cabazitaxel and carboplatin in mid May.

Went for third chemo yesterday and low red cell counts prevented that. Had been feeling extra tired but thought it was just the chemo.

Doing a blood transfusion this morning to help the counts and will do third round of chemo next Tuesday.

Only real current complaints are fluid retention and general incontinence, but otherwise handling chemo well.

Hoping that each of you are having success in your treatments.

Fight on, never give up. May the Force be with you.

[KocoPr]

Thank you for the update. Could you tell us what the other drug and clinical trial you were in?

[Pmann in reply to KocoPr]

The drug was XmAb808 in conjunction with Keytruda. The drug maker is Xencor

[KocoPr]

clinicaltrials.gov/study/NC...

XmAb808, a tumor-selective bispecific antibody from Xencor, is designed to bind to B7-H3, a tumor antigen, and CD28, a T-cell co-receptor, only when bound to tumor cells. This binding activates CD28, which helps to avoid the safety issues that have occurred with previous CD28 targeting approaches. In vitro studies have shown that XmAb808 binds selectively to CD28, and in vivo studies have shown that it can increase checkpoint and CD3 cytotoxic activity.

[Mgtd in reply to KocoPr]

Boy that is a mouthful. That paragraph reminds me of my granddaughter when I ask her to tell me what she has been working on in the lab at the university.

I have learned to move my head up and down and tell her that is really interesting. Of course I am clueless but at almost 80 I find that to be the case on many things “now a days.”

[KocoPr in reply to Mgtd]

Lol! I find it easier to look at diagrams while reading this stuff, plus breaking it into parts and googling word meanings. Eventually you can start making it through these articles easier as time goes on.

Google images and wikipedia are my friends.

[swwags in reply to Mgtd]

In simple terms, XmAb808 is a special type of antibody created by Xencor. It is designed to target specific proteins found on tumor cells called B7-H3 and CD28. These proteins are important because B7-H3 is found on tumors and CD28 is a receptor on T-cells, a type of immune cell.

The unique thing about XmAb808 is that it only binds to B7-H3 and CD28 when they are present on tumor cells. This selective binding means it activates CD28 on T-cells only near tumors, not elsewhere in the body. This is crucial because previous treatments that targeted CD28 everywhere in the body had safety concerns.

Studies conducted in test tubes (in vitro) have shown that XmAb808 binds specifically to CD28. Additionally, studies in living organisms (in vivo) have demonstrated that XmAb808 can enhance the immune system's ability to fight tumors by increasing checkpoint activity and promoting cytotoxic (cell-killing) functions of CD3-positive cells, which are part of the immune response against cancer cells.

Overall, XmAb808 shows promise as a treatment that targets tumors while potentially avoiding some of the safety issues seen with other therapies that activate CD28 more broadly throughout the body.

[Mgtd in reply to swwags]

Thanks. Greatly appreciated.

[skiingfiend]

It is not uncommon to have chemo delayed due to either low red or low white blood cell counts. Particularly if the patient has bone metastasis. You're doctor is monitoring this and has a range of tools at his/her disposal to help manage this problem.

In the past, my carboplatin chemo has been delayed due to low white blood cell counts, neutrophils.

Good luck.

[j-o-h-n]

May the Horse be with you (the one you rode in on)...

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n