anyone's allergies improved since getting breast cancer, or worsened since herceptin?

[Lani]

herceptin has been reported to decrease Tregulatory cells, which may help the body's immune system recognize her2 neu breast cancer as something to be attacked. Breast cancer itself seems to elude detection or effective obliteration by the immune system. This article finds Treg cells also responsible for allergies, their depletion tied to autoimmune diseases.


: Inflamm Allergy Drug Targets. 2006 Dec;5(4):211-7.
Role of regulatory T cells in allergy: implications for therapeutic strategy.

Elkord E.
CRUK Immunology Department, Paterson Institute for Cancer Research, University of Manchester, UK. eelkord@picr.man.ac.uk
The interest in regulatory T cells (Tregs) has been revived following the discovery of developing multiorgan autoimmune diseases as a result of depleting CD4+CD25+ T cells from mice. The importance of Tregs is being recognized in various clinical fields such as tumor and microbial immunities, transplantation and allergy. Prevalence of allergic diseases such as asthma, atopic dermatitis and rhinitis is significantly increasing worldwide. A better understanding of the mechanisms of T-cell regulation in allergic diseases may help in developing more effective therapeutic strategies. The well-known role of Tregs in preventing autoimmune diseases indicates that these important cells might be involved in prevention of allergy, and allergic diseases are associated with a low frequency and/or an impaired function of Tregs. Recent data show that natural CD4+CD25+ Tregs and interleukin (IL)-10-producing Tregs are normally able to suppress Th2 responses to allergens, while such suppression is diminished in allergic conditions. In this review, I summarize the role of Tregs in allergic diseases and discuss the possibility of manipulating these cells for treating allergic diseases.
PMID: 17168791 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[hutchibk]

My allergies were worse when on Herceptin, but have normalized since I discontinued Herceptin...

[KellyA]

Hi there,

Other than a severe allergy to bee stings, I have never had any problem with allergies. Since the Herceptin, however, I have had alot of problems with my sinuses. Never had sinus issues before.

Love, Kelly

[Mary Jo]

I find this post very interesting. Although I don't understand much of the article I know that I seem to have trouble with anything "foreign" going into my body since chemo/herceptin.

Before chemo/herceptin I could ingest anything with no problems whatsoever. Now, though..............forget about it. I now seem to get hives and/or swelling to some antibiotics and to contrast dye used for a CT I had. I was just given Clindamycin for a bacterial/yeast vaginal infection and after 2 pills had broken out in a rash/hives. I discontinued using the antibiotic and by day 3 had a swollen face and itchy neck and shoulders. It's scary really as I am terrified to take anything.

So, is it because of the chemo/herceptin? I'd have to say yes because I didn't react this way before.

Mary Jo

[Christine MH-UK]

My grass allergy seems to be alot better, but I am not sure whether this is since chemo or since herceptin.

[Chelee]

I find this interesting and can't wait to show this to a women I met at my cancer center. We both finished herceptin last March. She JUST told me the other day how strange it was that she USE to suffer from allergies all the time. (Most her life.) She said during her herceptin treatment she had lots of sinus problems as I did...and most women do. But its been 8 months since we both finished herceptin and she said she has had little to no more allergies and has been trying to figure out why? She said she had no problems at all through the summers month's which she usually suffers from them the most. She had even joked about chemo being a cure for allergies. I will tell her that might not be so funny after reading this. Maybe its just coincidence...but makes me wonder?

Chelee

[cath52]

I've only been off the Herceptin for 4 months so I don't know about long term, but I never use to have any of the sinus problems that I have now. Mowing my yard messes me up. Hopefully this will disappear.

[Rendi69CA]

I never had sinus problem until I started herceptin.

[Bev]

I too thought that chemo had somehow cured me of my spring pollen allergies. Or perhaps that my 20 year old cats were no longer with me. It use to be that I knew that the first week of May, I was going to have to buy lots of Claritin.

With Herceptin I had a constant drip but no other symptoms year round. I still have sinus issues but not all the congestion, sneezing, and watering that were clearly allergic.

I will reread the article to try to understand it better. Interesting. Bev

[cafe1084]

The onc nurse told me that sinus complaints is the only commonality she has found among the 15 of us being treated with herceptin. Otherwise, the are little to no complaints with the drug

[Bev]

Lani, I've reread. Is this saying H is good for allergies but bad for autoimmune diseases? And is it saying BC is flying under the radar anyways? It's a little late, so maybe it will make more sense in the morning. BB

[Heidi Bibber]

Lani,
My allergies seem to have become worse since starting Herceptin. Also, I have many more systemic lupus flare ups as well as increased myasthenia gravis symptoms. Both illnesses are autoimmune; and the intensity of the lupus flare ups is much worse since stopping Taxol and being on Herceptin only. Both, my oncologist as well as my rheumatologist are quite baffled by this development and have not come up with a treatment mode, such as drastically increasing my Prednisone or continuing the immune suppressant Cellcept which I took prior to the breast cancer diagnosis but which I needed to stop when I started chemotherapy. If anyone reading this is being treated for an autoimmune disease, please contact me. I would love some advice.
Heidi

[R.B.]

Balancing omega threes and sixes / omega three supplementation has been reported in trials to assist in moderating a number of auto immune regulated disorders including lupus.

Fats influence the immune system by a number of mechanisms.

You may find the Greek Diet post of interest.

http://www.her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=24410&highlight=greek+diet

RB

[Lani I am not sure of the implications but DHA suppresses CD25 expression on the surface of Jurkat T-cells by significant amounts depending on dosage http://www.jlr.org/cgi/content/full/46/9/1904#FIG1]

[fauxgypsy]

I was tested repeatedly for auto immune disorders several years ago until they finally said I had fibromyalgia, IBC, TMJ, restless leg syndrome and various allergies. Other than a mysterious rash I have had off and on my right hand, everything else seems about the same. The rash on my hand is erupting with more frequency since I started treatment. I am concerned about that because it is on my mastectomy side. I was told once that it was fixed drug reaction to something I was eating but it looks like small patches of shingles and itches badly. I learned years ago not to rub or scratch it because it swells up worse and hurts really bad.
I requested my records last week and the brain MRI I had recently showed deep white matter gliosis in a similar pattern to MS. There was also mention in the records of low gammaglobulin. He had apparently had it checked several times and never mentioned it. It is probably nothing but I really don't like being left in the dark. I probably should have started another thread but I am hoping Lani or R.B. will know something. I am still losing potassium for some reason as well. It is finally within the normal range but I am taking 30ml of potassium elixir per day. They did a 24 hour urine test but I won't see the doctor until the 19th.

Leslie

[LAURIE]

My allergies have improved since chemo/herceptin. I really thought it was do to getting my sinsues flushed when using my port. I can feel it and taste it flushing through my sinus canals.

[Mgarr]

Interesting. I fit the profile is it sinus/allergies improve and I now have an autoimmune arthritis.

[R.B.]

Faux Gypsy,

I simply do not have the knowledge to advise. I have read and continue to read about fats. There are many reports that the long chain omega threes and balancing the omega sixes may assist in moderating immune conditions.

I cannot offer specific advice and always recommend you discuss matters with your medical advisor. I just seek to inform.

This is a good site to search

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

Here is one abstract which I felt to be worth posting complete

J Am Coll Nutr. 2002 Dec;21(6):495-505.Click here to read Links
Omega-3 fatty acids in inflammation and autoimmune diseases.
Simopoulos AP.

The Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health, Washington, DC 20009, USA. cgnh@bellatlantic.net

Among the fatty acids, it is the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) which possess the most potent immunomodulatory activities, and among the omega-3 PUFA, those from fish oil-eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)--are more biologically potent than alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Some of the effects of omega-3 PUFA are brought about by modulation of the amount and types of eicosanoids made, and other effects are elicited by eicosanoid-independent mechanisms, including actions upon intracellular signaling pathways, transcription factor activity and gene expression. Animal experiments and clinical intervention studies indicate that omega-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties and, therefore, might be useful in the management of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Coronary heart disease, major depression, aging and cancer are characterized by an increased level of interleukin 1 (IL-1), a proinflammatory cytokine. Similarly, arthritis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and lupus erythematosis are autoimmune diseases characterized by a high level of IL-1 and the proinflammatory leukotriene LTB(4) produced by omega-6 fatty acids. There have been a number of clinical trials assessing the benefits of dietary supplementation with fish oils in several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases in humans, including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis and migraine headaches. Many of the placebo-controlled trials of fish oil in chronic inflammatory diseases reveal significant benefit, including decreased disease activity and a lowered use of anti-inflammatory drugs.

[fauxgypsy]

Thanks, R.B., I am adding more omega threes to my diet and will resume the fish oil. I have recently changed oncologist and will hopefully get to ask him about some of this the next time I see him. Seeing specialists always makes me think of the blind men and the elephant. It is one of Aesops fables, I believe. Several blind men got an opportunity to meet an elephant. The first one felt of the elephant's tail and said the elephant was very much like a rope. The second blind man felt the elephants leg and said the elephant was very like a tree. The third blind man felt of the elephants trunk and said the elephant was very like a snake. I think there were seven blind men in all. In any case, none them saw the whole elephant. Sometimes I feel like I am the elephant.

Leslie

[R.B.]

Faux gypsy.

Don't forget to read up on the omega sixes too. It is the sixes in excess of omega threes at a very simplistic level that are essentially the enabling raw materials for inflammatory processes.

I am sure that medical professionals all do their very best, and have excellent motives.

On my wanders I have become aware how mind numbingly complex it all is, and each tiny area is a specialism on its own, and there are only so many hours in the day, particularly for doctors. I do not know how they cope with the amount of information there is.

At the end of the day much is unknown. I can only point out some research and invite you to do your own reading and come to your own conclusions.

Thank you for your elephant tale I think I may be able to use it at some point. It raises valid issues of specialisation v overview.

[fauxgypsy]

R.B.,
I told my surgeon the last time I saw him that I understood that he was a general surgeon and that there was no way that he could keep up with the reading on everything. But I could be an expert in "me." I am more than a "breast cancer patient" or a "mastectomy patient." My problem is that, so often, they are not willing to listen. Particularly if it is outside the range of their knowledge. And you are right, there are so many complex systems involved and each specialization is only looking at one small part of the whole. It is like chaos theory. Anything you change, even at the tiniest molecular level, can have huge effects.

Leslie

[dhealey]

I have been plaqued with allergy/sinus trouble beginning with chemo and sinus infections one right after the other while on herceptin. I will finish this up in December so hopefully the sinus problem will go away.

[R.B.]

I am sorry you feel disillusioned with elements of the system. I am certain doctors also wish they had more time for a `heads up` on wider issues. The problem is there is a limit to what is humanly possible from a single persons perspective.

Maybe we should all be better educated at school as to how we work so we can also be more a part of the process.

RB

[plguest]

I found the lump in the beginning of May. From the beginning of May to the beginning of July the tumour grew from about 2 cm to over 10 cm I had a systemic rash for 2 years (no diagnosis) prior that exhibited on legs and arms. I have always suffered from spring allergies. When the strawberries bloom I sneeze. I had no allergies and the rash disappeared during the spring of my diagnosis. After mastectomy I was rash free for 3 months. Have not gone through an allergy season on Herceptin but will find out in a few months. Maybe I can eat crab again! Just one more perk for HER2
I have always considered the rash a precursor or indicator that something was going on (inflammatory state) I believe that there are common symtoms of cancer other than fatigue and and in our case lumps, tissue thickening etc.
I have designed a survey for cancer patients on pre diagnosis symptoms to try to figure out whether this is true or not. I would like to put it out to all of you but not sure if I am allowed to do that here. I will ask moderator and post it as Pre Diagnosis Survey if I can.

[Lani]

that dermatologists, if alert, could suspect that cancer might appear later.

There are also rare neurologic conditions called paraneoplastic conditions, which presage cancer.

Usually "discovered" in afterthought.

Cancer deranges the immune system and may perhaps be the result of a deranged immune system.

Thanks everyone for your input on this.

[schoolteacher]

Lani,

I don't know if this has anything to do with the discussion; but for three months prior to me realizing I had BC every time in the morning when I took a bath I had a certain mole itch. I have thought about that often since finding the BC. What was so strange it was on the side I had the BC. I have not really notice about my allergies in the spring, but I will watch this time to see if I notice a change.

When I went to the dentist in October before my diagnoses, the woman who cleans my teeth made a comment about something going on in my mouth. She said, "I am not saying you have cancer, but you have so and so." I can not remember the name of what she said. When I started taking chemo my mouth cleared up.

Amelia

[Faith in Him]

My allergies have definately improved since getting breast cancer. They used to be really bad but I have had no problems the last two years.