› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Avastin and Yervoy
- This topic has 12 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 5 months ago by Francyn.
- Post
- Replies
-
-
- January 8, 2015 at 8:36 pm
It's an anti-angiogenesis drug that targets VEGF. In other words it prevents the growth of new blood vessels that are needed in order for tumors to grow.
That's the classic explanation for how it works, but it seems to have the effect of closing off existing capillaries as well. Maybe they need a continued supply of VEGF to remain functional? Just a guess. I've had Avastin injected into my eye for retinopathy that was caused by blood vessel growth, and not only did it stop the progression but it reversed the damage completely.
It was once a promising anticancer superdrug, but its effects are much more nuanced than anticipated. In large, established tumors, it seems to have the effect of walling off the tumor, causing it to become more hypoxic, which actually makes it more dangerous. But if the tumors are very small and perhaps don't have self-sufficient microenvironments set up yet, it could be beneficial by choking them off and suppressing growth signals.
BTW, as you can imagine, it is fairly toxic as a systemic agent.
-
- January 8, 2015 at 8:36 pm
It's an anti-angiogenesis drug that targets VEGF. In other words it prevents the growth of new blood vessels that are needed in order for tumors to grow.
That's the classic explanation for how it works, but it seems to have the effect of closing off existing capillaries as well. Maybe they need a continued supply of VEGF to remain functional? Just a guess. I've had Avastin injected into my eye for retinopathy that was caused by blood vessel growth, and not only did it stop the progression but it reversed the damage completely.
It was once a promising anticancer superdrug, but its effects are much more nuanced than anticipated. In large, established tumors, it seems to have the effect of walling off the tumor, causing it to become more hypoxic, which actually makes it more dangerous. But if the tumors are very small and perhaps don't have self-sufficient microenvironments set up yet, it could be beneficial by choking them off and suppressing growth signals.
BTW, as you can imagine, it is fairly toxic as a systemic agent.
-
- January 8, 2015 at 8:36 pm
It's an anti-angiogenesis drug that targets VEGF. In other words it prevents the growth of new blood vessels that are needed in order for tumors to grow.
That's the classic explanation for how it works, but it seems to have the effect of closing off existing capillaries as well. Maybe they need a continued supply of VEGF to remain functional? Just a guess. I've had Avastin injected into my eye for retinopathy that was caused by blood vessel growth, and not only did it stop the progression but it reversed the damage completely.
It was once a promising anticancer superdrug, but its effects are much more nuanced than anticipated. In large, established tumors, it seems to have the effect of walling off the tumor, causing it to become more hypoxic, which actually makes it more dangerous. But if the tumors are very small and perhaps don't have self-sufficient microenvironments set up yet, it could be beneficial by choking them off and suppressing growth signals.
BTW, as you can imagine, it is fairly toxic as a systemic agent.
-
- January 9, 2015 at 10:21 pm
This is an interesting study. As you saw in the earlier response, Avastin is an antiangiogenesis drug. In this case, though, the effect is less about stopping the formation of blood vessels and more about blocking VEGF. VEGF stands for vascular endothelial growth factor, and it is a major component in creating blood vessels. Tumors need a lot of blood so they force the body to create blood vessels in their area, much like the plan in "Little Shop of Horrors" that is always saying, "Feed me!"
But VEGF does other things, and it is over-expressed in melanoma cells. VEGF has been linked to melanoma progression and growth.
I was actually involved peripherally in pushing this study along. A researcher had done a small study combining Avastin and Yervoy, and showed strong results. This was only a handful of patients, though, and this researcher wanted to do a larger trial. They lined up everything necessary but could not get one of the companies involved to donate drug to the study. This drug on for, I believe, a couple of years. I was in a meeting with some senior people at that company and told them that their delay was a major problem for patients. Maybe this got someone's attention because the approval was given within a month of that meeting.
It is too early to tell if this will all pan out, but here are some thoughts. The best immunotherapy drugs right now are the anti-PD1 drugs, two of which are approved. They are both approved, however, for patients who have already been treated with Yervoy. Since Yervoy is not a bad drug, and taking it is a gateway to getting an even better drug, it makes sense to give Yervoy the best possible chance to succeed. I would definitely give a clinical triap of some sort very serious consideration, and this particular trial is not a bad one.
Hope this helps.
Tim–MRF
-
- October 14, 2016 at 8:28 pm
I was on Yervoy and Opdivo, but it didn't work. Tumors continue to grow. I've had three rounds of Taxol and Carboplatin. Doc also wanted me on Avastin but insurance did not approve it. During my third round of chemo on Monday, I heard from Genetec and they approved donating the Avastin. Thursday I had my first round but I do have to pay for administrative costs out-of-pocket. Small price to pay if it works. I'm scheduled for a CT at the end of the month. We'll see how well this works.
-
- October 14, 2016 at 8:28 pm
I was on Yervoy and Opdivo, but it didn't work. Tumors continue to grow. I've had three rounds of Taxol and Carboplatin. Doc also wanted me on Avastin but insurance did not approve it. During my third round of chemo on Monday, I heard from Genetec and they approved donating the Avastin. Thursday I had my first round but I do have to pay for administrative costs out-of-pocket. Small price to pay if it works. I'm scheduled for a CT at the end of the month. We'll see how well this works.
-
- October 14, 2016 at 8:28 pm
I was on Yervoy and Opdivo, but it didn't work. Tumors continue to grow. I've had three rounds of Taxol and Carboplatin. Doc also wanted me on Avastin but insurance did not approve it. During my third round of chemo on Monday, I heard from Genetec and they approved donating the Avastin. Thursday I had my first round but I do have to pay for administrative costs out-of-pocket. Small price to pay if it works. I'm scheduled for a CT at the end of the month. We'll see how well this works.
-
- January 9, 2015 at 10:21 pm
This is an interesting study. As you saw in the earlier response, Avastin is an antiangiogenesis drug. In this case, though, the effect is less about stopping the formation of blood vessels and more about blocking VEGF. VEGF stands for vascular endothelial growth factor, and it is a major component in creating blood vessels. Tumors need a lot of blood so they force the body to create blood vessels in their area, much like the plan in "Little Shop of Horrors" that is always saying, "Feed me!"
But VEGF does other things, and it is over-expressed in melanoma cells. VEGF has been linked to melanoma progression and growth.
I was actually involved peripherally in pushing this study along. A researcher had done a small study combining Avastin and Yervoy, and showed strong results. This was only a handful of patients, though, and this researcher wanted to do a larger trial. They lined up everything necessary but could not get one of the companies involved to donate drug to the study. This drug on for, I believe, a couple of years. I was in a meeting with some senior people at that company and told them that their delay was a major problem for patients. Maybe this got someone's attention because the approval was given within a month of that meeting.
It is too early to tell if this will all pan out, but here are some thoughts. The best immunotherapy drugs right now are the anti-PD1 drugs, two of which are approved. They are both approved, however, for patients who have already been treated with Yervoy. Since Yervoy is not a bad drug, and taking it is a gateway to getting an even better drug, it makes sense to give Yervoy the best possible chance to succeed. I would definitely give a clinical triap of some sort very serious consideration, and this particular trial is not a bad one.
Hope this helps.
Tim–MRF
-
- January 9, 2015 at 10:21 pm
This is an interesting study. As you saw in the earlier response, Avastin is an antiangiogenesis drug. In this case, though, the effect is less about stopping the formation of blood vessels and more about blocking VEGF. VEGF stands for vascular endothelial growth factor, and it is a major component in creating blood vessels. Tumors need a lot of blood so they force the body to create blood vessels in their area, much like the plan in "Little Shop of Horrors" that is always saying, "Feed me!"
But VEGF does other things, and it is over-expressed in melanoma cells. VEGF has been linked to melanoma progression and growth.
I was actually involved peripherally in pushing this study along. A researcher had done a small study combining Avastin and Yervoy, and showed strong results. This was only a handful of patients, though, and this researcher wanted to do a larger trial. They lined up everything necessary but could not get one of the companies involved to donate drug to the study. This drug on for, I believe, a couple of years. I was in a meeting with some senior people at that company and told them that their delay was a major problem for patients. Maybe this got someone's attention because the approval was given within a month of that meeting.
It is too early to tell if this will all pan out, but here are some thoughts. The best immunotherapy drugs right now are the anti-PD1 drugs, two of which are approved. They are both approved, however, for patients who have already been treated with Yervoy. Since Yervoy is not a bad drug, and taking it is a gateway to getting an even better drug, it makes sense to give Yervoy the best possible chance to succeed. I would definitely give a clinical triap of some sort very serious consideration, and this particular trial is not a bad one.
Hope this helps.
Tim–MRF
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.