Postby DH2Sleen » Tue Apr 10, 2018 6:16 am
SarahS wrote:Thanks for posting about this sdino
Can anyone explain how this differs from the trial that Sleen had success on?
Sleen’s trial used the actual, cloned cells from her tumor to infuse back into her body to go after the tumors. In this new trial, the cells from a tumor are removed and tested for reactivity. The genetic code of cells that are reactive to the mutations in the tumor are “transcribed” into a virus. The virus becomes a messenger of the gene that recognizes the mutation. They call the virus a transcription vector because it carries the genetic code of the T-cell receptor (TCR) from the Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocyte (TCR) to other, younger lymphocytes that they get from the patient’s blood through apheresis. So, once transcribed, these young lymphocytes have learned to look for the cells that have the mutation that caused the patient’s tumors. The doctors think that they can double the efficacy of the process because these “young” lymphocytes can live longer and are more active. But it is at a cost of time. The process takes longer because of the added step of reprogramming the young lymphocytes, so the patients need to be able to survive on other treatments until the new, personalized treatment can be prepared. I think it adds a couple of months to the process that already takes three months; so a patient could expect five months total between tumor harvest surgery and treatment with the new cells.
Last edited by
DH2Sleen on Tue Apr 10, 2018 5:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
DW, Sleen dx 9/2013 @47yo: IIIc T4b N2b MX
9/2013 colectomy
10/2013 - 3/2014 FOLFOX
4/2014 - 6/2014 Rad to bladder
12/2014 +'ve for lung mets, MX becomes M1
3/2015 enter TIL trial @ NIH
7/1/15 Receive 148E9 cells to target K-ras G12D mutation
8/11/15 Reduction=18%, no new tumors
9/15/15 25%
10/20/15 27%; PET -> one hot met
11/24/15 30% all mets shrinking
1/26/16 46% but one suspicious met
3/24/16 46% but one growing
4/7/16 Lung lobectomy NED for the first time
3/3/20 Still NED "cured"