STAT News: A cancer researcher races to find a [MSS-CRC] cure — for his own incurable cancer

[DK37]

If you ever wanted to know about my quest to cure both my own MSS CRC & efforts to lead the way for fellow colorectal cancer patients as well - STAT News (a fantastic healthcare & research news site) has published an incredibly well-written feature story on what is now in motion in San Diego immunotherapy research labs - for my own cancer currently and then for as many MSS-CRC patients as possible.

Things are starting to get this mad scientist pretty excited Stay tuned... the future is now. https://www.statnews.com/2016/09/26/col ... -marsilje/

Cheers,
-DK

[Wonderfullymade]

You rock! God be with you DK!

[MissMolly]

DK:
Wow. Amazing article.

You clearly are being guided by a Higher Power/God, in your quest. Adding your innate and keen intelligence and tireless work ethic.

You deserve only the best of good possibilities and health restored in your ground-breading work with the vaccine.
Nameste,
- Karen -

[ktwmn]

Have you begun the vaccine?

[Marejenny]

DK:
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your hard work and dedication in pursuing a cure for us. I pray that you keep your strength up and your chemo brain cooperates so that you may benefit from your endeavors. You are a great person and I am proud to know you.

[mypinkheaven]

Excellent article! Thank God for the smart people working on this.

[juliej]

Great article! I love the idea of a vaccine that is truly personalized and loaded with patient-specific neoantigens.

Current immunotherapies, as good as they are, still have the potential to be toxic since they function in that narrow gap between tumor immunity and autoimmunity. The use of neoantigens offers the possibility of a safer and more specific therapy. Perhaps combining a neoantigen vaccine with a checkpoint inhibitor might even improve its efficacy?

The immune cells in his blood lashed out at about a dozen of the peptides.

Yes! GO, Tom's immune cells, GO!

[Nik Colon]

Thanks again

[DK37]

Have you begun the vaccine?

Hi Ktwmn,

I have not started the vaccine yet. I hope to enter therapeutic phase within a matter a few months. I'll update with posts as milestones are achieved in the envisioned treatment plan but that is the timescale we're looking at currently. Approaching clinical phase... but not quite there yet.

Cheers,
DK

[DK37]

Perhaps combining a neoantigen vaccine with a checkpoint inhibitor might even improve its efficacy?

That is certainly what we and others in the field are hypothesizing right now Julie. There were reports (unconfirmed but from a good source) that there have been some melanoma patients that had partial responses from vaccine alone (which I think i amazingly good news from both a technology and essentially lack of side effects level!). Our current guess is that for MSS-CRC, seeing activity from vaccine alone is a longshot (perhaps stable disease is possible?) so right now we are thinking through ways to add checkpoint inhibitors and/or other co-therapies to the vaccine therapy. A topic very much in discussion right now.

-DK

[DK37]

As clinical phase takes off (knock on wood) - I think following in Sleen's Colon Talk footsteps (huge knock on wood I follow in her footsteps in MANY ways ) - I'll add my updates to this thread, rather than separate new ones, so that yesterday's newsstory background/basic descriptions of the project is the first post in the topic and the overall story is not spread across multiple topics.

Another basic background for the project, this blog post from Feb 2016: https://adventuresinlivingterminallyopt ... ear-vol-2/

If I forget to do this (damn chemo brain - ) feel free to remind me!

-DK

[juliej]

As clinical phase takes off (knock on wood) - I think following in Sleen's Colon Talk footsteps (huge knock on wood I follow in her footsteps in MANY ways ) - I'll add my updates to this thread, rather than separate new ones, so that yesterday's newsstory background/basic descriptions of the project is the first post in the topic and the overall story is not spread across multiple topics.

Another basic background for the project, this blog post from Feb 2016: https://adventuresinlivingterminallyopt ... ear-vol-2/

If I forget to do this (damn chemo brain - ) feel free to remind me!

Looking forward to your updates. You have a powerful team - Human Longevity (the name itself is an affirmation!) and UCSD-Moores Cancer Center - lots of big brains working on your case! You are going into new territory here and I am so thrilled and happy for you!!!

[ktwmn]

This is great news. I look forward to reading your updates, Tom. This will be a great educational resource for members!--JM