For All Its Promise, Immunotherapy Has Power To Deliver Crushing Disappointment
Doctors are looking at immunotherapy — which uses a patient's immune system to fight off cancer — as something akin to sending a man to the moon. But relapses plague a majority of the patients who turn to it in desperation. The New York Times offers patients' stories and more information about the treatment.
The New York Times:
Immunotherapy Offers Hope To A Cancer Patient, But No Certainty
A cancer patient nicknamed the Steel Bull got his death sentence on a gloomy March Wednesday in 2015. He was 47, his given name Jason Greenstein, but he had earned the moniker from his oncologist for his stubborn will during more than four years of brutal chemotherapy and radiation treatment — all of which had failed. ... The oncologist, Dr. Mark Brunvand, said he excused himself to the hallway to gather his emotions. When he returned a moment later, he looked Mr. Greenstein in the eye. “You are going to die,” he remembers saying. “And because you’re my friend, it’s my job to make you as comfortable as possible.” ... What happened next qualified as well beyond “dramatic response.” A few days later, Mr. Greenstein agreed to try a last-ditch drug called nivolumab that was being tested for Hodgkin’s. It dripped into his veins, just like those body-racking chemotherapy treatments. But this time, there were no harsh side effects. And this time, the outcome was very different. (Richtel, 7/31)
The New York Times:
Harnessing The Immune System To Fight Cancer
Steve Cara expected to sail through the routine medical tests required to increase his life insurance in October 2014. But the results were devastating. He had lung cancer, at age 53. It had begun to spread, and doctors told him it was inoperable. A few years ago, they would have suggested chemotherapy. Instead, his oncologist, Dr. Matthew D. Hellmann of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, recommended an experimental treatment: immunotherapy. Rather than attacking the cancer directly, as chemo does, immunotherapy tries to rally the patient’s own immune system to fight the disease. (Grady, 7/30)
The New York Times:
What Is Immunotherapy? The Basics On These Cancer Treatments
Some of the most promising advances in cancer research in recent years involve treatments known as immunotherapy. These advances are spurring billions of dollars in investment by drug companies, and are leading to hundreds of clinical trials. Here are answers to some basic questions about this complex and rapidly evolving field. (Grady and Pollack, 7/30)
