Clinical Trial ALPN-202

Dr. Taylor is so much like Dr. Urba in his knowledge of cutting-edge research and his encouragement. Dr. Urba often told us that Mark could be the one to hit the home run. Even if the odds are low, Mark has often beat them with flying colors. 

We just finished our conversation with Dr. Taylor, so I will attempt to explain what we learned before we forget the details.

• The clinical trial that Dr. Taylor hoped for is available!. 
• Initially, he was told that Mark was not a candidate because he has had an adverse reaction to one of the immunotherapy drugs. The combination of  Ipilimumab/Nivolumab in the fall of 2019 wiped out his one remaining adrenal gland, causing adrenal insufficiency.  
• Dr. Taylor explained Mark's situation to the drug company that is responsible for the clinical trial. With Mark's excellent health, other than cancer, he received the green light. Besides, what do we have to lose?
• This clinical trial is "hot off the press," so there's no data on how effective it is, except for expert scientific data. However, Dr. Taylor is a research scientist and an oncologist in the field of melanoma, so he understands the science behind this trial. 
• It uses the CD-28 marker to turn on the switch to fire up the T-cells. This is a different approach than previous immunotherapy methods.
• Side-effects are the same as other immunotherapy drugs. The activated T-calls can attack organs like the kidney, liver, and lungs. The good news is that they can't affect the adrenals because they are already gone! 
• Current patients have had rashes and flu-like symptoms a week after the initial dose, but those symptoms have dissipated relatively quickly.
• The first dose will be administered in 2-3 weeks, so Dr. Taylor has prescribed other medications to manage the pain.
• The third-generation targeted therapy is also available, but it can't be used during the trial. If he started it right away, the trial would be postponed.  It will still be an option if the trial is ineffective or side effects prohibit its use.
• The TIL therapy that harvests T-Cells from the tumor is still in the research phase and has not been FDA approved. However, Dr. Taylor is hopeful that approval will come within the year, so it could be an option in the future. 

We asked the question, "How long would Mark have if none of these work? Weeks, months, or years?” Dr. Taylor quickly responded that it was more than weeks, but it would not be years. His best guess was 6-8 months, but of course, he is hopeful that something will at least slow down the growth and potentially do more than that. That is our hope, as well. 

Now, we'll move forward with Clinical Trial ALPN-202!!

We truly appreciate your love and concern!