Future options

HD IL-2 (Interleukin 2) 15-18% chance of helping, 5% chance of an actual cure.  Tough treatment for a week at a time. 80-90% recovery 5 days after the 5 day in hospital treatment.   6 weeks from start to know if having a positive response.  The reason I'm still alive after being told my wife would be a widow in 30-180 days (In March 2007)!  Must be done by a very experienced IL-2 Oncologist with a specially trained staff.  I talked to many people spouses that said their spouse had been going to try the IL-2 as a last resort, BUT their mate did not recover from chemo treatments in time to get in shape to take the rigorous IL-2 treatments.  I had 6 weeks of the treatment over two years.

HD IL-2 (Interleukin 2) 15-18% chance of helping, 5% chance of an actual cure.  Tough treatment for a week at a time. 80-90% recovery 5 days after the 5 day in hospital treatment.   6 weeks from start to know if having a positive response.  The reason I'm still alive after being told my wife would be a widow in 30-180 days (In March 2007)!  Must be done by a very experienced IL-2 Oncologist with a specially trained staff.  I talked to many people spouses that said their spouse had been going to try the IL-2 as a last resort, BUT their mate did not recover from chemo treatments in time to get in shape to take the rigorous IL-2 treatments.  I had 6 weeks of the treatment over two years.

HD IL-2 (Interleukin 2) 15-18% chance of helping, 5% chance of an actual cure.  Tough treatment for a week at a time. 80-90% recovery 5 days after the 5 day in hospital treatment.   6 weeks from start to know if having a positive response.  The reason I'm still alive after being told my wife would be a widow in 30-180 days (In March 2007)!  Must be done by a very experienced IL-2 Oncologist with a specially trained staff.  I talked to many people spouses that said their spouse had been going to try the IL-2 as a last resort, BUT their mate did not recover from chemo treatments in time to get in shape to take the rigorous IL-2 treatments.  I had 6 weeks of the treatment over two years.

I'm BRAF wild-type so this list does not have any drugs requiring the BRAF mutation. Many of these are early phase I trials. I think all of these are on clinicaltrials.gov. Besides anti-PDL1 I have no idea which ones are most promising. I almost ended up on the MEDI4736 + MEK trial. One persion told me h had very positive results within a week from AKT + MEK combo.

PD-L1 drugs: MEDI4736 (combined with MEK162 or Mekinist), PDL3280A

I'm BRAF wild-type so this list does not have any drugs requiring the BRAF mutation. Many of these are early phase I trials. I think all of these are on clinicaltrials.gov. Besides anti-PDL1 I have no idea which ones are most promising. I almost ended up on the MEDI4736 + MEK trial. One persion told me h had very positive results within a week from AKT + MEK combo.

PD-L1 drugs: MEDI4736 (combined with MEK162 or Mekinist), PDL3280A

I'm BRAF wild-type so this list does not have any drugs requiring the BRAF mutation. Many of these are early phase I trials. I think all of these are on clinicaltrials.gov. Besides anti-PDL1 I have no idea which ones are most promising. I almost ended up on the MEDI4736 + MEK trial. One persion told me h had very positive results within a week from AKT + MEK combo.

PD-L1 drugs: MEDI4736 (combined with MEK162 or Mekinist), PDL3280A

There is an "IDO inhibitor", INCB24360, from Incyte that I've seen a number of trials for and for several different cancers.  With melanoma, it appears that all the trials are in combination with the various checkpoint inhibitors, including anti-CTLA-4 (ipi), anti-PD-1 (nivo and pembro), and anti-PD-L1 (MEDI4736).  I don't know how previous failure on any of those as a single agent affects eligibility for participation in the individual trials, it may vary, but the early trials seem to show improved responses over the single agents.

Just before I did Yervoy in spring 2013, my medical oncologist offered it as an option post brain met and craniotomy and I was preparing to enroll in a trial combining Yervoy with it, but was eventually ruled ineligible because of my prior TIL cell therapy — the eligibility criteria were a bit vague when it came to TIL, but ultimately they decided it disqualified me.  It wasn't a huge issue for me, I viewed it as a "bonus" if I could get it, but Yervoy was the main focus.

Rather than list the various trial links and press releases, if you simply Google "INCB24360 melanoma", you should find what you need to know.  Hope that helps.

Best, Joe

There is an "IDO inhibitor", INCB24360, from Incyte that I've seen a number of trials for and for several different cancers.  With melanoma, it appears that all the trials are in combination with the various checkpoint inhibitors, including anti-CTLA-4 (ipi), anti-PD-1 (nivo and pembro), and anti-PD-L1 (MEDI4736).  I don't know how previous failure on any of those as a single agent affects eligibility for participation in the individual trials, it may vary, but the early trials seem to show improved responses over the single agents.

Just before I did Yervoy in spring 2013, my medical oncologist offered it as an option post brain met and craniotomy and I was preparing to enroll in a trial combining Yervoy with it, but was eventually ruled ineligible because of my prior TIL cell therapy — the eligibility criteria were a bit vague when it came to TIL, but ultimately they decided it disqualified me.  It wasn't a huge issue for me, I viewed it as a "bonus" if I could get it, but Yervoy was the main focus.

Rather than list the various trial links and press releases, if you simply Google "INCB24360 melanoma", you should find what you need to know.  Hope that helps.

Best, Joe

There is an "IDO inhibitor", INCB24360, from Incyte that I've seen a number of trials for and for several different cancers.  With melanoma, it appears that all the trials are in combination with the various checkpoint inhibitors, including anti-CTLA-4 (ipi), anti-PD-1 (nivo and pembro), and anti-PD-L1 (MEDI4736).  I don't know how previous failure on any of those as a single agent affects eligibility for participation in the individual trials, it may vary, but the early trials seem to show improved responses over the single agents.

Just before I did Yervoy in spring 2013, my medical oncologist offered it as an option post brain met and craniotomy and I was preparing to enroll in a trial combining Yervoy with it, but was eventually ruled ineligible because of my prior TIL cell therapy — the eligibility criteria were a bit vague when it came to TIL, but ultimately they decided it disqualified me.  It wasn't a huge issue for me, I viewed it as a "bonus" if I could get it, but Yervoy was the main focus.

Rather than list the various trial links and press releases, if you simply Google "INCB24360 melanoma", you should find what you need to know.  Hope that helps.

Best, Joe