Re: Campath-Arzerra trial for untreated CLLers

[Guest guest]

Not that I would want to discourage anyone from entering

into a clinical trial, but we have been there and done that.

Dr. furt did a good trial along this line using R & C

previously and the folks at Mayo also studied R & C in

untreated high risk patients. The responses were good, but

no one really got a sustained meaningful remission. I

actually took R & C ala Mayo twice...once using the original 5

week protocol and the second time doubling the R & C portion

and adding 2 extra weeks of C (11 weeks total). I tolerated

therapy well both times and my overt disease really did melt

away, but relapse came within 6 months the first time and

within 18 months the second time. I was on atovaquone for

oner 3 years to prophylax against PCP (this is very

expensive and gave me steady, though tolerable side effects)

and still ended up taking FCR.

My sense is that there are more fruitful trips to take than

going down this road. The doctors at Northwestern seem to be

wonderful physicians, but in the end we must all remember

that researchers get paid to do research and do wear 2 hats.

If I were going to try something " new " for my initial

therapy, I would seriously consider looking at something

more novel as I don't see that much to suggest that

ofatumumab will be dramatically more synergistic with

alemtuzumab than was rituximab...I think we can predict

relatively acceptable toxicity, relatively rapid responses

and relative high rate or retreatment within less than 3

years (probably much less) with this regimen. To my way of

thinking this falls along the lines of trying FCO...results

aren't dramatically better than with FCR.

Good luck,

Rick

[Guest guest]

I hope they take proper precautions. This sounds like a

pretty immunosuppressive combination, especially for

untreated patients who have many other options.