Re: Quick question as husband is calling!

[Guest guest]

mkludwig wrote:

> Terry heard something that was just approved a couple days ago

> for PC where they take your blood & take out the WBC &

> something like that where they get the PC out of the blood that

> is circulating through your body. Don't know any specifics. Any

> of this sound familiar to anyone?

I haven't heard of it exactly like that. I suspect that

Provenge, or some similar therapy, is what Terry had in mind

here.

Provenge is an experimental immunotherapy.

Prostate cancer cells have some unique proteins on the surface of

the cells. As I understand it, the way Provenge works is that

the doctor extracts some of the patient's blood containing his

white blood cells, i.e., immune system cells. These cells are

then somehow sensitized to prostate cancer proteins (I don't

remember how they do that). Then they are cultured, i.e., made

to reproduce in a test tube so that there are a lot of them.

Finally, they're injected back into the patient where the newly

sensitized white blood cells seek out and kill cancer cells.

It takes a week's work by highly skilled technicians to do this

for one single person and I seem to recall that it costs

something like $40,000 per patient, but if it really works I

imagine ways will be found to bring the cost way down.

This all makes rocket science look easy, but there's some

evidence that it works. It's not a cure. The therapy kills some

cancer but apparently doesn't get it all.

It's still experimental but there is a Phase III clinical trial

underway that's apparently getting good results.

I have hopes that the technique will continue to be refined and

improved until it becomes very effective. It's a promising

concept that would have been thought to be wildly impossible just

a few decades ago.

Ain't science great?

Alan

[Guest guest]

mkludwig wrote:

> Terry heard something that was just approved a couple days ago

> for PC where they take your blood & take out the WBC &

> something like that where they get the PC out of the blood that

> is circulating through your body. Don't know any specifics. Any

> of this sound familiar to anyone?

I haven't heard of it exactly like that. I suspect that

Provenge, or some similar therapy, is what Terry had in mind

here.

Provenge is an experimental immunotherapy.

Prostate cancer cells have some unique proteins on the surface of

the cells. As I understand it, the way Provenge works is that

the doctor extracts some of the patient's blood containing his

white blood cells, i.e., immune system cells. These cells are

then somehow sensitized to prostate cancer proteins (I don't

remember how they do that). Then they are cultured, i.e., made

to reproduce in a test tube so that there are a lot of them.

Finally, they're injected back into the patient where the newly

sensitized white blood cells seek out and kill cancer cells.

It takes a week's work by highly skilled technicians to do this

for one single person and I seem to recall that it costs

something like $40,000 per patient, but if it really works I

imagine ways will be found to bring the cost way down.

This all makes rocket science look easy, but there's some

evidence that it works. It's not a cure. The therapy kills some

cancer but apparently doesn't get it all.

It's still experimental but there is a Phase III clinical trial

underway that's apparently getting good results.

I have hopes that the technique will continue to be refined and

improved until it becomes very effective. It's a promising

concept that would have been thought to be wildly impossible just

a few decades ago.

Ain't science great?

Alan

[Guest guest]

mkludwig wrote:

> Terry heard something that was just approved a couple days ago

> for PC where they take your blood & take out the WBC &

> something like that where they get the PC out of the blood that

> is circulating through your body. Don't know any specifics. Any

> of this sound familiar to anyone?

I haven't heard of it exactly like that. I suspect that

Provenge, or some similar therapy, is what Terry had in mind

here.

Provenge is an experimental immunotherapy.

Prostate cancer cells have some unique proteins on the surface of

the cells. As I understand it, the way Provenge works is that

the doctor extracts some of the patient's blood containing his

white blood cells, i.e., immune system cells. These cells are

then somehow sensitized to prostate cancer proteins (I don't

remember how they do that). Then they are cultured, i.e., made

to reproduce in a test tube so that there are a lot of them.

Finally, they're injected back into the patient where the newly

sensitized white blood cells seek out and kill cancer cells.

It takes a week's work by highly skilled technicians to do this

for one single person and I seem to recall that it costs

something like $40,000 per patient, but if it really works I

imagine ways will be found to bring the cost way down.

This all makes rocket science look easy, but there's some

evidence that it works. It's not a cure. The therapy kills some

cancer but apparently doesn't get it all.

It's still experimental but there is a Phase III clinical trial

underway that's apparently getting good results.

I have hopes that the technique will continue to be refined and

improved until it becomes very effective. It's a promising

concept that would have been thought to be wildly impossible just

a few decades ago.

Ain't science great?

Alan

[Guest guest]

mkludwig wrote:

> Terry heard something that was just approved a couple days ago

> for PC where they take your blood & take out the WBC &

> something like that where they get the PC out of the blood that

> is circulating through your body. Don't know any specifics. Any

> of this sound familiar to anyone? 

It has not been approved, but the company Dendrion made a press announcement that their clinical trial called " impact " for an immunotherapy treatment called Provenge had just matured and it had demonstrated additional survival time for men with advanced prostate cancer.  They did not disclose any statistics which will be revealed at the AUA conference at the end of April.  The company still must submit their date to the FDA and ask for approval which could easily extend well into 2010.                                                                                                                                                                                                   If you are interested in learning more about Provenge you can go to my advanced prostate cancer blog at www.advancedprostatecancer.net   I have written extensively about the treatment over the past two years, but the latest information and descriptions about it have been written in the posts of this current week.

 

                                                                                                                 Malecare- helping men with cancer                                                                   www.malecare.org                                                                                            www.advancedprostatecancer.net

M

I haven't heard of it exactly like that. I suspect that

Provenge, or some similar therapy, is what Terry had in mind

here.

Provenge is an experimental immunotherapy.

Prostate cancer cells have some unique proteins on the surface of

the cells. As I understand it, the way Provenge works is that

the doctor extracts some of the patient's blood containing his

white blood cells, i.e., immune system cells. These cells are

then somehow sensitized to prostate cancer proteins (I don't

remember how they do that). Then they are cultured, i.e., made

to reproduce in a test tube so that there are a lot of them.

Finally, they're injected back into the patient where the newly

sensitized white blood cells seek out and kill cancer cells. 

Through a manufactoring process an antigen is attached to the white blood cells that sensitizes them to the pc cells. 

It takes a week's work by highly skilled technicians to do this

for one single person and I seem to recall that it costs

something like $40,000 per patient, but if it really works I

imagine ways will be found to bring the cost way down. 

If it is approved nobody knows what the cost will be, the company has been mum on the topic.  I will guarentee that it will be expensive.  I have seen projected numbers ranging from $45,000 to $125,000, but whi knows.  If it is approved it will probably be only approved at this time for men with very advanced disease as they were the subjects for the trial. 

This all makes rocket science look easy, but there's some

evidence that it works. It's not a cure. The therapy kills some

cancer but apparently doesn't get it all.  As stated, it is NOT a cure.

It's still experimental but there is a Phase III clinical trial

underway that's apparently getting good results.

I have hopes that the technique will continue to be refined and

improved until it becomes very effective. It's a promising

concept that would have been thought to be wildly impossible just

a few decades ago.

Ain't science great?

Alan 

-- T NowakTo learn about the Petition to Make Prostate Cancer a National Priority go to http://www.prostatecancerpetition.org