Chloroquine - Sounds promising!
 

Hi All - I recently read this article in Cure magazine talking about the common anti-malarial drug, Chloroquine, as a potential destroyer of cancer stem cells. It all sounds very promising. There will soon be a multicenter clinical trail using it in triple negative bc:

http://curetoday.com/index.cfm/fusea...rticle_id/1749


Intrigued by the article, I did some further research and found some promising preliminary studies such as this one, discussing Chlroquine as a HER2 disruptor:

http://www.abstractsonline.com/Plan/ViewAbstract.aspx?sKey=40c77acf-0078-45fa-bd01-043689aa3ff6&cKey=6ca9e87b-b447-4fb2-9f67-60f3e7edb3bf&mKey={0591FA3B-AFEF-49D2-8E65-55F41EE8117E}

So should I plan a trip to Africa so I can get my Chloroquine prescription now? Why not? Its already FDA approved. I've got half a mind to just try this out myself. Does anyone have any experience with this or thoughts? I took this drug years ago when traveling through Central America and other than a few lucid dreams, it really didn't seem to have any negative side effects.

Re: Chloroquine - Sounds promising!
 

Thanks courtney

Looks like anti malaria treatment generally have action on cancer cell since artesunate/ artemisinim is also found to be anti cancerous.

these a thread on it but not sure how to post it

Also it seems that a lot of things that are anti HIV and also anti cancerous- Chloroquine is also on trial against HIV

Re: Chloroquine - Sounds promising!
 

More here: http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=42181

Re: Chloroquine - Sounds promising!
 

Thanks, Rich. Think I just might be taking a trip to Africa soon (wink wink)...

Re: Chloroquine - Sounds promising!
 

I took plaquenil (a form of this drug) for lupus many years ago. The only side effect I can remember is that it can cause problems with your eyes. I had to see an opthalmologist every three months as long as I took it.

Re: Chloroquine - Sounds promising!
 

Courtney, I would be all for trying out a new drug except that there is the potential that it would interfere with your current therapy. What are you taking right now? I'd run it by some professional first, either your oncologist or chemo pharmacist. Sometimes things as seemingly harmless as grapefruit can decrease the efficacy of our life-saving chemo drugs.
I also took the drug when I was traveling in South America, and like you don't remember any side effects from it. ;)

Re: Chloroquine - Sounds promising!
 

Oh and one other thing- you should totally call, email or write a letter to any of the authors or doctors in charge of the study and ask their opinion. Most researchers will respond and offer good advice, as it is in their interest to validate their studies with additional patient experiences. :)

Re: Chloroquine - Sounds promising!
 

This is a very interesting thread for me. I also took the drug Plaquinil/hydroxycloroquin for a few years to treat "unspecified inflammatory syndrome." This began not long after I finished my treatment for liver mets. First I was taking Celebrex as a COX2 inhibitor, prescribed by my treating med oncologist.

Both these drugs now have some research for anti-HER2. I do not know how close the formulation for hydroxycloroquin is to the cloroquine mentioned in the article, but it would be interesting if they are pretty close.

Maybe some of our Research Assistants can find a molecular comparison.

Go for it, Courtney.

Re: Chloroquine - Sounds promising!
 

I can't offer anything of substance... but after due diligence, if it is the next path for you to try, I say go for it, sister.

Re: Chloroquine - Sounds promising!
 

Wow, that is really interesting, Steph. I wonder if that had anything to do with your success? I started the Chloroquine yesterday and hope that it is helping to get rid of this mess. Will keep y'all posted, as usual.

Re: Chloroquine - Sounds promising!
 

I am visiting India next month and usually my PCP will asks me if I would like to get take it as a precaution for malaria - never said yes before but now wondering if I should...

They usually just give the pills for just two days I thought. Any idea on dosage and duration? I may even be able to purchase it in India

Re: Chloroquine - Sounds promising!
 

I'm taking 250 mg daily.

Re: Chloroquine - Sounds promising!
 

So it appears to me that Plaquenil is the same thing as the chloroquine they used in the study, which means they were testing it in combo w/ Herceptin. Excellent. Who prescribed it for you C? Your onc?

Re: Chloroquine - Sounds promising!
 

Yup, my onc. The very same forward thinker that brought me high dose Tykerb (failure) and Intrathecal Herceptin (success) - I am grateful to have such a wonderful doctor.

Re: Chloroquine - Sounds promising!
 

Hi Courtney,
You are such an inspiration and your onc is a star as well. Please do let us updated about the results. Do you take it with other medications, such as chemo and herceptin?

Grace

Re: Chloroquine - Sounds promising!
 

Thanks for the dosage info, Courtney. I will find out if I can buy this in India.

Re: Chloroquine - Sounds promising!
 

Courtney -
There should be little or NO side effects and no problems with blood counts as a result of taking this drug, which is extracted from a bush that grows in Peru if it is the same as Plaquinil.

Let us know.

Re: Chloroquine - Sounds promising!
 

Good luck Courtney! I pray that this is your magic bullet that will zap those stem cells!
Thanks for unofficially trialling it for us all. Hopefully they will extend clinical trials to her 2 as well as triple negative bc soon.
Do we know if it crosses the BBB??

Ellie