Treatment options? - Help

[Daisypink]

Hi

Can anyone help or advise me? I have recently been diagnosed with a 3 cm liver met and bone mets to my sternum. I already have lung mets which are progressing too.

My Oncolgist is keeping me in on my current chemo - Navelbine (Vinorelbine) and herceptin. He is going to refer me to a London hospital to see if there is a drug available on a clinical trial here to help me.

Does anyone know of any drugs that may be suitable to help (please see my history under my name). I am so desparate to live, i am only 34.

Thank you ladies for for help in advance...

Love Jakki
xxx

[Becky]

There is Gemzar, Taxol, Abraxane, Carboplatin. I am not sure if all are approved in the UK but I am sure that Taxol is. Perhaps Taxol, Carboplatin and Herceptin might be a good combo. Perhaps even trying Tamoxifen might help too. Just some ideas. My thoughts are with you.

[hermiracles]

Hi Jakki - sorry to hear about the progression to liver and sternum. I recently had progression to my sternum - its always a shock eh?
Glad your Doc is keeping you on chemo and looking around for further options for you. Sorry I'm not really any help - some of Becky's ideas sound really helpful - hope you find the one that will work for you Jakki. Hang in there sis.
Blessings
Hermiracles

[SoCalGal]

A doc at UCLA gave me a consult and he explained his theory to me saying that if you are taking tykerb and it is serving as a partial road block but some cells are still thriving then you should not discontinue it but add another road block to help - in other words add herceptin. He felt that the two worked well together - the old synergy concept. So that's what I'm trying - plus I've just started Avastin. Another block to blood supply for the tumors. I hope this is making sense.
Flori

[tousled1]

Becky has some great ideas that you may want to try. Also you may want to try Ixempra. I have lung mets that are progressing and just started Xeloda/Tykerb/Ixempra.

[eric]

Are there any trials around you for an HSP inhibitor or T-Dm1?

[BonnieR]

Dear Jakki, I can't offer you any information but I wanted to send you my thoughts and love. Keep the faith and keep us posted.
Bonnie

[Daisypink]

Hi

I have been referred for a trial for an HDAC inhibitor, does anyone know anything about these or have experience of these??

Any help on this appreciated

Thanks

jakki
xxxx

[Faith in Him]

Hi Jakki,

I am so glad that a trial was found for you. I pray that this new drug works well for you. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Tonya

[Sheila]

Jakki
Will this be used alone or in combo with Herceptin etc? I did see where they are using it with Avastin, which blocks the blood supply to the tumor:


<!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="main text" -->
Zolinza becomes first approved HDAC inhibitor

By Dr Benjamin Friedmann, Pharmaceutical Business Review, October 10, 2006

Merck & Co's Zolinza has been approved by the FDA for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma patients who have progressive, persistent or recurrent disease on or following failure of two systemic therapies, making the oral drug the first in its class to reach the market. However, with similar drugs not far behind, Merck will need to work hard to ensure Zolinza capitalizes on its first-to-market lead advantage.
In some cancer cells, excess amounts of the enzyme histone deacetylase (HDAC) prevent the activation of genes that control normal cell activity. As an inhibitor of HDAC, Zolinza (vorinostat) allows for the activation of genes that may help to slow or stop the growth of cancer cells, although the exact mechanism of Zolinza's anticancer effect has not been fully characterized.
Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma which affects the skin. Approval of the once-daily drug was based on two clinical studies in which refractory CTCL patients were evaluated to determine their response rate to oral Zolinza. In the open-label, single-arm, pivotal study, the overall objective response rate was 29.7% in all patients treated with Zolinza.
In addition to CTCL, Zolinza is being investigated in other indications including myeloma, mesothelioma and a variety of other cancers that have entered phase I and II clinical trials since June 2005. Zolinza's wide application reflects the assertive approach Merck is taking to maximize the potential use of the drug as the gold-standard HDAC inhibitor in as many indications as possible.
Furthermore, the strong global sales and marketing power of Merck should provide the commercial strength necessary to drive market uptake of Zolinza successfully in CTCL and in any other indications Zolinza is subsequently approved for.
The future role of HDAC inhibitors is likely to be in combination with existing or novel chemotherapeutic agents. Merck is therefore exploring the effects of Zolinza as a single agent and its use in combination with both other targeted therapies (http://www.mesotheliomaweb.org/targeted.htm) such as Genentech/Roche's Avastin (bevacizumab) and OSI/Genentech/Roche's Tarceva (erlotinib), and with conventional chemotherapy treatment regimens.
Although Zolinza is now the only approved HDAC inhibitor, Merck may potentially face intense competition from Gloucester Pharmaceuticals' romidepsin (FK-228), another HDAC inhibitor also in development for both CTCL and myeloma. Merck will, therefore, need to work hard if it is to ensure Zolinza capitalizes on its first-to-market advantage.
Hope this helps and you can get those mets under control...it seems there are still many options, so trying to find the right one is crucial...I Like what Flori said about adding the Herceptin back in with Avastin.