coming to the end of my dense dose taxol

lindaprocopio said:

I find the Avastin/Cytoxan to be the EASIST chemo yet!
I hope you can get the Avastin approved. I've only had 2 Avastin infusions so far (plus a daily 50 mg tablet of Cytoxan oral chemo) but feel WONDERFUL on it so far. GREAT energy level (certainly MUCH better compared to taxol!) and no skin or neuropathy or blood count issues yet. It's almost like being on a chemo break for me.

I was heart-broken when the dense dose taxol stopped working for me, since it got me into remission twice (the only thing that did that). I did 17 rounds of weekly taxol after my initial 6 carbo/taxols. Topotecan is probably next for me, too, and I also couldn't find any success stories anywhere online, although I also didn't find anyone posting that it DIDN'T work for them.

Did you have Gemzar yet? I did a bunch of research on what else might be out there for me, and I'll post it here for you to ask your oncologist about:

* Avastin + Tykerb may be the first clinically-exploitable antivascular drug combination. High dose, intermittent 'bolus' scedules of Tykerb to coincide with Avastin administration. Tykerb enhancing the antivascular activity of Avastin was presented at an ASCO Breast Cancer Symposium on September 5, 2008.

* A Phase II trial showed promise in a new formulation of an old drug, irinotecan, as a potential treatment for women with platinum resistant or refractory ovarian cancer. Response rates were at the high end of what is expected for ovarian cancer therapies – remarkable because all of the women had resistant or refractory disease. The drug showed response in one-fifth of women whose tumors were not responsive to platinum based therapies, as well as in some women whose tumors were not responsive to pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil). Additionally, in this study, toxicity was less than one would predict from previous trials of similar drugs and. women had an average progression free survival of 18 weeks. The drug showed response in one-fifth of women whose tumors were not responsive to platinum based therapies, as well as in some women whose tumors were not responsive to pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil).

* The monoclonal antibody farletuzumab was studied – one Phase II trial showing safety and efficacy of the drug as a single agent in platinum refractory/resistant ovarian cancer. Another study of the drug gave patients a remission equal or longer than the first remission and high response rates.

* Another study explored the use of Yondelis as a single agent in relapsed ovarian cancer, showing a 30 percent overall response rate and a median time to progression of 5.3 months. In 2009, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel recommended that the drug undergo further studies before approval. The drug is not FDA approved for any uses.

* The combination of Gemzar® and Platinol® appears to kill more cancer cells than each drug given alone. Doctors have reported that the combination has produced a partial or complete disappearance of cancer in 69% of patients. Gemzar® is another chemotherapy agent that has been reported to produce anti-cancer responses in 11%-28% of patients with recurrent ovarian cancer. Although single agent Gemzar® appears very active, combinations of other chemotherapy drugs and Gemzar® have even greater anti-cancer activity.

* Monoclonal Antibodies: Monoclonal antibodies can be produced in a laboratory and are able to identify specific proteins on the surface of certain cells and bind to them. This binding action stimulates the immune system to attack and kill the cells to which the monoclonal antibody is bound. OvaRex® is a monoclonal antibody that has been designed to identify and bind to CA 125, a protein found on the surface of most ovarian cancer cells. Researchers from the Vancouver Cancer Center recently conducted a clinical trial evaluating OvaRex® in 13 patients with advanced ovarian cancer who had failed multiple treatments. Over half of the patients in this study demonstrated a significant immune response to treatment. Following treatment with OvaRex®, one patient survived more than 18 months and two patients are still alive after almost two years.

* Hycamtin®: A number of clinical studies have evaluated the use of Hycamtin® in patients who are resistant to Platinol®. About 14% of Platinol®-resistant patients achieved remission following treatment with Hycamtin®, indicating that it might be an effective treatment option for these patients. In a clinical study conducted in Europe, Hycamtin® was directly compared with paclitaxel in patients who were resistant to Platinol®. Hycamtin® was at least as effective as paclitaxel for killing cancer cells and producing cancer shrinkage. Over half of the patients who received Hycamtin® survived at least one year from the start of the clinical trial.