Our first meeting with Dr. Cho was a basic introduction. He explained to us what phase one clinical trials are and how they work, the following is what I took from the meeting. Phase one means that it is a brand new drug or the first time that two already existing drugs are being combined and used for treatment. The trials currently being performed are using targeted drugs, meaning that the drug blocks a certain pathway of the cell to block growth and production of the cancerous cell. In order to find out which pathway my cancer is using they must study the mutation of the cancerous cells. The tumor that was extracted from my thymus a couple years ago will be sent to Mass General to be studied and the results given to Dr. Cho so that an appropriate trial, if any, can be chosen. If the exact mutation cannot be identified I will either have my name submitted to enter a trial that blocks two of the most common pathways, or I will possibly be put on an already FDA approved chemotherapy drug that has shown some success in one thymic carcinoma case study. It will take three or so weeks to receive the results of the mutation study from Mass General, so for now it's back to the waiting game.
Other general trial information: 1. side effects can be unpredictable 2. trials vary but can be extremely time consuming 3. three people are assigned to each designated dosage of the drug, if the dose is too strong for a person at their assigned dosage they can lower the dosage but are no longer useful to the trial study. 4. if a person is taking a drug that is working for them, but the drug is being removed from trial, that person can remain on the drug that is working for them. 5. there is no limit to the number of trials that you can participate in.
There is a lot of information to take in and I'm sure I didn't get it all, but as with everything, we will take it one step at time.
UPCOMING APPTS:
TBD
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