The Next Phase

It's been a while since I've posted, so I'll pack this one full of information..

Yesterday I went with my parents to meet with Dr. Wolchok and his team. The purpose of the visit was to discuss what new treatments are available to him. After reviewing several clinical trials and eliminating just about all of them, we decided to move forward with a Phase I/II trial of a new experimental drug called - ADI-SS. Prior trials of the drug have had positive results with virtually no side effects.

My dad will receive one shot a week of the drug for 8 weeks. He will have a PET scan before the first injection, on day 4 of the first week, and after the 8th week. This test along with blood work will determine if the drug is working. The shots will be given at Sloan Kettering.

The drug is an arginine-degrading enzyme - arginine is an amino acid that the melanoma cells require to live. Arginine is found naturally in our bodies and is made by healthy cells. The thought behind the drug is that if you can remove all of the free-floating arginine from the body, the cancer cells will starve and die. The enzyme used to remove the arginine escapes from the body very rapidly so they use what is essentially anti-freeze to keep it in the body up to a week.

Details of a previous trial can be seen here.

The doctor was very optimistic about this drug and so are we.

Some other updates from the appointment - my dad's white blood count was at a good level (4.2) and his blood pressure and heart rate were at normal levels.

They are going to try and reduce the level of pain medicine he's on because they think it's the cause of him being so tired all the time. They also prescribed a medication to increase his appetite.