IMM101 Use

Hi AC,

Yes it is food for thought and interesting.  I'll admit there is too much for me to take in but at first sight my thought is Dr D has invested a lot into IMM101 and could perhaps be clutching at straws.  It seems dis-spiriting to still be trialling after 13yrs. Sometimes people are said to have found a great solution looking for a problem.

As to why a safe drug can't be used off label my initial thought is can it have an adverse effect on PCa.  Silly though this may seem I've been very reluctant to use things the GP has prescribed because I'm not sure if it's been tested with PCa.  By the way I'm hoping I no longer have PCa.

I've used a strong cream called Efudix, which is a chemtherapy drug, quite a lot and sometimes suspect it could have encouraged PCa as it gets into your system and flushes out. That might be nonsense but I've recently been prescribed a new tube after a few years without and thought I wouldn't ask because it's a good cream for sun damage.

It's interesting that you hope treatment for bladder cancer will also fix the PCa.  To learn more of your treatment and how it's progressing will be good. It's given me some more things to read up on.  All the best, Peter

A PubMed search find loads of Phase II studies using IMM-101 - mostly in pancreatic cancer - but I cannot find any published research showing 'great success' in any cancers. Most studies seem to say that IMM-101 is as safe and well tolerated as other drugs ... but that really isn't enough.

I don't think a researcher touting his own [?unpublished] research is a good basis for therapy. NICE does take a long time: but there's fairly good reasons for that.

AC

Yes, NICE is long winded and we know that cost/benefit is taken into account. But I feel it may also be that where new drugs are marketed or they are used for other than originally intended purposes, before affects have been fully evaluated over a period of time, there can be widespread catastrophic results. Many of us will remember or have read about the drug originally introduced in Germany as Contergran to assist sleeping. It was subsequently and disastrously given to pregnant women as an anti nausea treatment for morning sickness. It was marketed under several names but became known as Thalidomide . It resulted in thousands of birth abnormalities and was subsequently withdraw for most applications, although it is still used on a small scale today for certain cancers and leprosy symptoms. The case, probably more than any other showed the need for careful consideration and appraisal of new drugs or for different use before being approved for widespread use.

Edited by member 20 Feb 2019 at 02:05  | Reason: Not specified