In vitro/vivo trial Curcumin and/or Herceptin

trasia · 04-21-2011, 08:15 PM

Jackie07:
I do know that standard treatment for Her2 positive cancer works. My bc discovered in 2007 was almost exactly the same as your Mom's: Stage 2B with 2 lymphnodes involvement. I had 6 rounds of TCH (Taxatere, Carboplatin, Herceptin) and then 4 rounds of weekly Herceptin. I could not go on to complete the 1-year Herceptin because of lowered MUGA score. It's almost been four years, and I am happy to report that I've been doing well.

Trasia:
I have seen a lot of anectodal evidence of TCH and I am really glad it worked for you, this is the reason why I am not giving up on conventional medicine, it seems as years go by, oncologists seems to find the best chemo+ Herceptin combo (in 2008, women die of poor combinations of Herceptin, as well as of course Avastin- which am glad FDA has pulled away).

My mother’s initial MUGA scan is quite low and her initial treatment plan is not TCH but AC+ Herceptin. From a clinical perspective, am really quite worried about Herceptin’s SE for her heart… which is why am trying to find out if there is a better alternative to Herceptin. A few people said Tykerb is an alternative,but that would be another topic altogether.

trasia · 04-21-2011, 08:16 PM

Jackie07:

My 88-year-old Mother is a 13-year Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma survivor. I took a 20-hour flight back home to urge her to get the treatment. [She had put off the surgery for almost a year.]

Trasia:
How is your mother now Jackie? For my mother, I think part of the reason why is is refusing conventional treatment is not just the side effects but the strain it will cause on our finances (she is not insured). If Dr. Slamon and colleagues knew that Curcumin works as well as Herceptin, they are doing the general public a disservice (and I hope they are not).. I hope its just a case of not getting enough sponsorship to conduct the clinical trial/studies on Curcumin, and I hope its not just because they are receiving fat pay checques from Genentech.

trasia · 04-21-2011, 08:17 PM

Jackie07:
I do know a local friend's mother who had refused to continue chemo after a couple of infusion for stage IV lung cancer. Her daughters took her to MD Anderson for a consult and she lived three more years, longer than the 6 months her local doctor had predicted.

Trasia:
We visited another oncologist yesterday – literally dragging my mother, and told her its just a diagnostic test… the oncologist told me it might be too late for chemo and/or Herceptin, as it is usually done right after surgery (am sure other oncologists will probably think – this is probably not the case).. I found another onc who told me it might still be possible to put her on Herceptin, and if my mother is concerned about finances, she can join a trial on paclitaxel+ a new study drug+ Herceptin. My question is , is it possible to use ChemoFX and test these drugs on my mother’s breast tissue samples—instead of testing it on her??
And if they can actually test this new study drug + Herceptin on humans? Why are not they doing a similar study for Curcumin in combination to Herceptin or without Herceptin?
If Dr. Slamon and his colleagues has already figured Curcumin out—and ruled it out…what do they have to do with other cancer lines (other than Her2)—yes, they have found Herceptin to inhibit overexpression of Her2, and even found biomarkers (FISH and IHC) to test if you have overexpression of Her2. How about overexpression of Matrix metalloproteses, Cyclooxygenase-2, adhesion molecouse, chemokine and TNF?? All of which causes invasion tumor metastasis.

A quote from Dr. Aggrawal of MD Anderson

Because Taxol (paclitaxel) is so toxic, it activates a protein that produces an inflammatory response that induces metastasis. Curcumin suppresses this response, making it impossible for the cancer to spread. In fact, researchers found that adding curcumin to Taxol actually enhances its effect. Curcumin breaks down the dose, making the therapy less toxic and just as powerful while delivering the same level of efficacy.

Refer to the article here:
http://www.mdanderson.org/newsroom/n...s-release.html

Trasia:
Yes, the above study is only done in mice. What stops them from doing the same study on humans too? Why not use ChemoFX or Oncotype DX-- not only for drugs but also for natural substances such as Curcumin? And really, if they have already ruled this out-- why not publish the documents saying that Curcumin works for mice, but not for people.

I hope in the future we could also have biomarkers to test if we have overexpression of these cancer lines that causes metastasis… in the same way we have tests to see if we have ER/PR and HER2 overexpression.. (just thinking out loud).