Re: IL-21 vs DTIC – thoughts please

I am stage three so I don't have direct experience. I want to mention, however, that if I were stage IV one of the reasons that I'd be interested in Ipilimumab is my understanding is the side effects would not be as bad as with some of the other treatments especially in terms of IL2. There are a number of participants on the MPIP that have had sucess with IL2 so I'm not trying to say I don't think it's a good option. I'm sure you will hear from others with experience who can give you and your husband tip regarding your plan.

For me personally, at my age and with long terms health problems following my groin lymph node dissection, side effects would definitely be one of the factors I'd look at. I'm a 52 year old woman so not a young person nor extremely old. I mention that because if I were 20 I might approach a recurrrence differently. I am only responding though to say that it surprises me that if side effects are a factor in the recommendation that they would suggest less with IL2 than with Ipilimumab.

That said your husband's plan sounds pretty standard and like it is a good one. I also wanted to say that being negative for the genetic mutations BRAF and or others is not necessarily a bad thing. I know patients have had success with targeted treatments for these mutations which is good but everything I've read indicates that one of the reason they need these targeted treatments is that patients with those mutations often do not do as well with conventional treatments. My point is that for those without the mutations, they may be more likely to respond to the available non targeted treatments.

Wishing you and your husband the best of luck, Carver