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keytruda before surgery?

kynobi
kynobi CSN Member Posts: 1
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

i have been offered to be in a trial for the drug keytruda - getting a dose 1 week before partial glossectomy surgery. All info i have read about keytruda is when it is applied to those who are unable to undergo surgery. I understand this is a trial, so maybe this is a new approach. has anyone experienced this approach?

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  • johnsonbl
    johnsonbl CSN Member Posts: 266 Member
    #2
    Keytruda appears to be a pretty great drug...

    So it's not a surprise they are trying to use it in various settings to see if there are more benefits to using it earlier.  It basically turns off some of the defense mechanisms within the cancer cells itself so that your immune system can actually fight it on it's own.  I had the opportunity to do a cetuximab trial in combination with my radiation therapy and I declined it as there wasn't too much consensus that it would really improve the outcome over standard therapy (which is already very, very good).  

    If it were me, I'd probably give this one some serious consideration.  Keytruda has shown some great results with really advanced patients...so if you're receiving it early then that could be really interesting.

     

    Good luck.

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