Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog

       Today I received an email from my oncologist about the phase 1 clinical trial data for lung cancer patients with ROS1 mutations who are on crizotinib, (Xalkori.)  The article and data were just published in the New England Journal of Medicine.       I knew that Xalkori was fast tracked by the FDA for patients with ROS1 mutations, which means it was released for use prior to the completion of the clinical trials.  The FDA sometimes does this because trial participants are doing so well on the drug and there's previous reassuring data for its use from some other study.  What I didn't understand is that it was released prior to the completion of phase 1.  (There are usually three phases of a clinical trial before a medication is approved by the FDA.)      In any case, for those interested, it's an interesting article: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1406766?query=featured_home

     One would think that after returning from the cancerGRACE Patient Forum in Boston on September 6th and after learning about new medications I can try when Xalkori stops working for me, I would feel more relaxed.  Initially, I did feel better about my future options.  On most days, I still feel relief that there is a new targeted therapy that I can try, (if/when I need it), and also another one which is expected to be FDA approved in the next couple of months.  I learned about other targeted therapy and chemotherapy strategies that clinicians are using for patients like me.  However, I've also found myself thinking about what these medications and strategies really mean for me.       When I was first found to have stage 4 lung cancer, the words "terminal cancer" hit my ears and began to come out of my mouth. I actually heard myself saying, "I have terminal cancer" and, "There is no cure for me."  I just Googled "t...

      Back in June, lung cancer patient advocate extraordinaire, CraiginPA (his online handle), let me know about a lung cancer education conference for patients in Boston on September 6th.  The focus of the conference..."acquired resistance,"  a subject near and dear to my heart lungs. ("Acquired [drug] resistance" occurs when a chemotherapy no longer works to control cancer growth, after it has worked for a while.)  With my oral chemo, Xalkori, there seems to be some variability in how well it works, how long it works and which side effects users experience.  However, the common fact for all patients on Xalkori is that it won't work forever. Some patients see benefits from it for only a few months while others have been successfully treated with it for a few years.  Why Xalkori works longer for some patients and not for others is unknown.  We know, from clinical trials, that when Xalkori is stopped, the cancer tends to come back ...