Carolyn will be here in a few days. Hooray!
Quite a few years ago I bought some shares of stock in
Novartis, a pharmaceutical company based in Switzerland. I thought I needed some drug company stock to
“balance my portfolio”, as my broker is fond of saying. I would have preferred an American company, but
I reasoned that the political climate here was inimical to Big Pharma; too many
Elizabeths and Bernies breathing down their collective neck. The Swiss never let anything stand between
them and a healthy profit. But,
whatever. I wish I had bought a whole
lot more.
That by way of providing a somewhat sour introduction to an
important cancer story. We have
discussed “immunotherapy” before, many times (29, to be exact). Well,
it appears that the FDA is on the verge of approving an immunotheraputic approach
to dealing with a type of leukemia, “B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia” to
give the malevolent sucker its full name.
In this disease the culprit is cancerous B cells. B cells are part of the immune system. The immunological approach involves extracting
millions of the patient’s own T cells (another part of the immune system),
modify their genetics to teach them that cancerous B cells are “the enemy”,
then infusing them back into the patient where, in the pleasing phrase of one
Dr. Carl June, they behave like “serial killers”, offing hundreds of thousands
of errant B cells. This treatment is not
without side effects and is far from infallible – but it seems to beat
alternative treatments (chemo; bone marrow transplants) in most respects.
This type of immunotherapeutic approach has been studied using lab animals for at least a decade.
It gives promise of value defending against other cancers as well: multiple myeloma and aggressive brain tumors
are mentioned.
Oh, by the way: the treatment is estimated to cost
$300,000. That’s a lot of Swiss francs, but clearly beats the alternative.
Here is the article.
Read it!
I am discouraged by the news that John McCain has glioblastoma, an extremely aggressive form of brain cancer. McCain, in my view, is an ornament to the Senate, a forceful voice for moderation. Also in my view, if he had been nominated for President in 2000, instead of George W. Bush, the world would be a far better place.
ReplyDeleteNew immunotherapeutic procedures are close to approval (see above). I hope John is included in a clinical trial, is cured, and can continue to guard the middle against the likes of Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders - and Donald Trump!
More encouraging news
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/23/health/gene-therapy-cancer.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share
Lou had that cancer and lived 13 years so you never know.
ReplyDeleteGreat to have such hope for new treatments. My mom followed treatment options for glioblastoma (what my dad died from in 1955) and would be so pleased that finally there is a possible new direction for treatment.
ReplyDeleteWell, as is said all too often, there’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that the FDA has approved Novartis’ immunotherapy drug Kymriah for use in certain cases of leukemia. The bad news is, of course, its cost - $475000. Good grief!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/30/health/gene-therapy-cancer.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share
Here is a long but interesting article on the side effects of immunotherapy. They range from mild flu-like-symptoms to – you guessed it – death. If you are getting immunotherapy and need to go to the ER, remember not to tell the doc you are on “chemo”. You are in “immunotherapy”. If you say "chemo" the poor guy may really screw you up.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/new-drugs-knock-back-cancer-but-trigger-bizarre-side-effects/