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Re: Ipi

Forums General Melanoma Community Ipi Re: Ipi

    JenM
    Participant

      Hi Linda,

      I don't know enough about LDH except I have read on these boards from multiple posters that LDH can go up for a variety of reasons and it does not have to be melanoma related.  In regards to the scans showing increasing in size of mets:  I have read a theory that Dr. Hodi (I believe that is the right spelling) who was one of the authors on the ipi paper that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine this past year, who said it might be the mets are increasing in size because they are filling up with immune fighting T-cells.  So it's not really that the mets are getting bigger because they are filling up with melanoma cells but the increase in volume is being replaced with T-cells that are in the mets destroying the melanoma cells.  Does that make sense?  I like the theory….hope he is right!

      In regards to the hair depigmentation and vitiglio…it sounds like you know that is a positive thing so that is another plus!  At this past ASCO meeting in June a doctor from New York University–Dr. Anna Pavlick presented a poster on ipi which correlated hair depigmentation with survival.  Here is a link that I found to an article with some of her comments on the topic.  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37540361/

      Hope this information helps.  Good luck to your husband with the rest of the ipi treatments.

      Regards,

      Jen

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