I feel like I knew the reason at one point in time but it seems to have been removed from my brain. We held out on Avastin as long as we could but now that my mom has started (1st infustion 11/3/15 2nd infusion 11/17/15) I'm curious why this will exclude her from many clinical trials.
Avastin use would have eliminated her from participating in the Toca 511 Trial (virus injected directly into tumor cavity after tumor was removed) she was/is part of at UCLA in May 2015. However, her recurrence by November 2015 with multiple new lesions made turning to Avastin pretty much a no-brainer as options are running out.
There are a number of trials that are ok with prior or current Avastin use but many of the ones that sound promising require no prior Avastin use. Why is this?
Avastin inhibits growth of the blood vessels that feed tumors. Is it thought that the medicine (chemo, virus, immunotherapy) can now no longer reach the cancer?
I think your last sentence could certainly be part of the reasoning. The poor perfusion of tumors treated with prior Avastin makes systemic therapies that much more difficult to reach their target, which is already difficult enough for brain tumors. See my next post for some new information on co-therapy with Avastin.
ReplyDeleteThanks for responding Stephen :) learning a lot these past few weeks. Being an advocate for someone is a full time gig.
ReplyDeleteI wish we didn't have to go down the Avastin road but we were like so many, left with little choice. Hoping this will at least buy us some time.
Filled out paperwork today for the Nivolumab copayment assistance program. With any luck we'll be able to begin that in December or early Jan. Hoping the situation holds up till then.