Help request-info needed

ccfighter
ccfighter Member Posts: 476
in Prostate Cancer #1
Hello gentlemen,
I am usually at the gyn cancer boards as I am a cervical cancer patient, but am over here on prostate in hope to gain a little insight on prostate cancer treatment. A friend of mine is battling stage IV prostate cancer. He was diagnosed about two years ago after falling down in his yard while mowing the grass and not being able to move his legs. He was taken via ambulance to the hospital where it was determined he had a tumor on his spine. This was a metastasis from prostate. After more testing there was also a small tumor apparent in his lung. He had been under the care of a cardiologist who checked his PSA regularly and ignored the irradic PSA level test results. Mistake. Big one. My friend is in his late 50's.
At the discovery of his spinal tumor he underwent three weeks of targeted radiaiton to the spinal tumor which allowed him to regain the use of his legs. He then started hormone therapy to induce chemical castration. All was stable for about a year until his tumors began to grow again. His oncologist decided it was time to start chemotherapy. He completed four rounds of docetaxol and taxotere but still the tumors persisted. A met to his femur required more radiation to ease pain and allow mobility. Just recently he was entered into a phase 1b clinical trial with a drug called C90 as well he is taking zytiga.
After the initiation of the clinical trial, the c90 caused a terrible rash that encompasses most of his body. He has been put on steroids and antibiotics to prevent infection in the rash. He is contemplating not continuing with the trial.
My question to you all here on the board, are you aware of this clinical trial? Does anyone here have any experience with it? Also, are there other treatments available for hormone resistant prostate cancer that he has not been offered? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Comments

  • VascodaGama
    VascodaGama Member Posts: 3,641 Member
    #2
    Care with any interaction of drugs
    CC

    I am sorry for your friend’s condition. Surely his cardiologist was out of pace to order a PSA without any knowledge in interpreting the results. I wonder what has been the numbers at those times and along his treatments. Could you tell us where is your friend been treated?

    In the below link (clinicaltrials.gov) from the US National Institute of Health they have a list of trials but the search results for a drug named C90 was negative.
    I wonder if you have made a mistake in spelling the name. Nevertheless, there have been and still is ongoing a series of trials with Zytiga (abiraterone acetate) to verify for the impact and interaction of Zytiga with other medications.
    One of the trials uses a drug named GDC-0980, which is an inhibitor of two proteins in the pathway that regulates cell growth and survival.

    Here is the Link of the trial;
    http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01485861?term=zytiga&rank=18
    For the drug is this;
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21998291

    Here is a link of all trials with Zytiga;
    http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=zytiga


    By saying the above, I would like to inform you that in fact there is an antagonist drug named C90 used to avoid spread of cancer (metastases), but of which trial I am not aware of. This drug is an inhibitor of the Growth Factor Receptor in cancer cells, blocking the motive for growth and avoiding the formation of newer blood vessels (angiogenesis). Cancer to survive needs blood for feeding and the theory is that; without it cancer starves and dies. (http://www.angioworld.com/angiogenesis.htm)

    For details on the drug you can read this link;
    http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/67/13/6012.full

    My conclusion is that C90 seems to be a good drug but Zytiga is the one treating your friend. This drug has given results of many successes in trials but it is a difficult drug in administration and it can cause liver damage. Your friend needs constant vigilance of lipids and symtoms by an oncologist.
    The other medications (steroids and antibiotics to prevent infection in the rash) may also interact with Zytiga and the whole process should be followed by a specialist on Zytiga. I would recommend your friend to get a second opinion on the treatment and on his condition/side effects.

    Another drug your friend should be looking for is Alpharadin. This is a newer successful drug to "combat" metastatic cancer in bone.
    Here are the links;

    http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01516762?term=alpharadin&rank=6
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDvY7opm3Fs
    http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/234945.php


    Hope for the best.

    VGama
  • ccfighter
    ccfighter Member Posts: 476
    #3
    VascodaGama said:

    Care with any interaction of drugs
    CC

    I am sorry for your friend’s condition. Surely his cardiologist was out of pace to order a PSA without any knowledge in interpreting the results. I wonder what has been the numbers at those times and along his treatments. Could you tell us where is your friend been treated?

    In the below link (clinicaltrials.gov) from the US National Institute of Health they have a list of trials but the search results for a drug named C90 was negative.
    I wonder if you have made a mistake in spelling the name. Nevertheless, there have been and still is ongoing a series of trials with Zytiga (abiraterone acetate) to verify for the impact and interaction of Zytiga with other medications.
    One of the trials uses a drug named GDC-0980, which is an inhibitor of two proteins in the pathway that regulates cell growth and survival.

    Here is the Link of the trial;
    http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01485861?term=zytiga&rank=18
    For the drug is this;
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21998291

    Here is a link of all trials with Zytiga;
    http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=zytiga


    By saying the above, I would like to inform you that in fact there is an antagonist drug named C90 used to avoid spread of cancer (metastases), but of which trial I am not aware of. This drug is an inhibitor of the Growth Factor Receptor in cancer cells, blocking the motive for growth and avoiding the formation of newer blood vessels (angiogenesis). Cancer to survive needs blood for feeding and the theory is that; without it cancer starves and dies. (http://www.angioworld.com/angiogenesis.htm)

    For details on the drug you can read this link;
    http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/67/13/6012.full

    My conclusion is that C90 seems to be a good drug but Zytiga is the one treating your friend. This drug has given results of many successes in trials but it is a difficult drug in administration and it can cause liver damage. Your friend needs constant vigilance of lipids and symtoms by an oncologist.
    The other medications (steroids and antibiotics to prevent infection in the rash) may also interact with Zytiga and the whole process should be followed by a specialist on Zytiga. I would recommend your friend to get a second opinion on the treatment and on his condition/side effects.

    Another drug your friend should be looking for is Alpharadin. This is a newer successful drug to "combat" metastatic cancer in bone.
    Here are the links;

    http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01516762?term=alpharadin&rank=6
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDvY7opm3Fs
    http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/234945.php


    Hope for the best.

    VGama

    VGamma,
    Thank you for the
    VGamma,
    Thank you for the response. I found the clinical trials that you referenced and as well could not find anything pertaining to a C90. Perhaps the information my friend is giving me is slightly skewed. It has been difficult to get accurate info from him as he seems to let is doctors handle things and does little questioning of his own. He seems to believe that he is in good care. I know that he is financially secure and being treated somewhere in Florida near the city of Tampa.
    I worry for him as his disease is quite advanced and seems to be behaving in an aggressive manner. I wish to find a way to help him, if not with a cure than with a treatment that will stabilize his condition and allow him to enjoy a good life for some time. He is a good man. Alpharadin I haven't heard of, and I thank you for pointing me in that direction. That sounds like something he could surely benefit from as the bone metastasis seem to be his greatest threat at this moment.
    I wish to trust doctors but there does require some effort on the patients part to remain vigilant of their own disease and the factors that are both detrimental and beneficial in their care. I must remind my oncology nurses at every chemo infusion that I am allergic to Decadron as they try to administer it each time. Sometimes I worry things become repetitive, but each are individual and should be treated as such.
    Thanks you again for the response. I am eager to discuss the Alpharadin with my friend.
    Take care.

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