Trying to take the guess work out of finding the correct immunotherapy for Melanoma Patients.Jim Breitfeller

As a stage IV survivor/researcher of Melanoma, I know first hand how it feels to be diagnosed with stage IV cancer. You, your family and your caretaker becomes overwhelmed by the information that must be absorbed and processed to make an educated decision on what therapy you want to try. Don’t get me wrong, your oncologist will play a major in your decision, but is it the right one? Is he trying to fill some of his clinical trials or is he looking out for your best interest? Armed with the right information, one can make the best possible choice. It shouldn’t be a hit or miss approach because with cancer, time is of the essence. Getting to the right therapy before you end up at the late stage IV of your disease is the name of the game. In my therapy, that was my goal, find the right therapy before it overcomes your internal organs and kills you. So, in 2005, I asked my doctor John M Kirkwood if they would take my tumors and biopsy them for gene analysis. Back in 2005, this analytical activity was revolutionary and not done as a standard of care. So in 2005, I contacted Arlet Alarcon from the Molecular Profiling Institute. I tried to convince Dr. John M. Kirkwood, but it was not to be. But now to fast-forward to 2012 and you will see molecular profiling your tumor becoming common practice. So with this in mind, here are some suggestions to get you on the right path. 1.) Assemble a team of doctors that specialize in your cancer. 2.) Make sure they see you as a major part of the team and the decision making. (Be your own advocate) 3.) Learn the medical language so you can research and stay abreast of the new therapies that are being discovered daily. 4.) Learn how your immune system works and how the therapies interact with the immune system. 5.) Be POSITIVE!!!
Here is the latest slide from "Evolving Treatment Options in Melanoma: Utilizing Genetic Features to Optimize Therapy" by Dr. Ribas

permission granted from Clinical Care Options – Oncology http://www.clinicaloptions.com/oncology.aspx SOC= Standard of Care

What I am trying tell is that by optimizing your personal therapy, you can extend your survival. “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” ~Charles Darwin~ Take Care, Jimmy B

A very Happy Father's Day from a stage IV Melanoma Survivor..Jim Breitfeller

I want to thank all the people that has made this day a very special Day.


As a stage IV Melanoma Survivor, I never dreamed that I would be here today to witness my children spread their wings and learn to fly. My daughter was just entering college when I was first diagnosed and my son, Chris was a sophmore in High School. Today, I am preparing to help my son relocate to Connecticut. He just landed an engineering job at an areospace company. My daughter, Jessica is globe-trotting around the world working on her dual Masters in "International Affairs" and "Natural Resources & Sustainable Development". This day, marks Dee and I as offically "Empty Nesters".

This all was made possible by entering a journey that entailed four clinical trials along with the best and internationally renowned medical team that makes climbing Mt. Everst apiece a cake. And you , My carepage friends that kept me on the "Yellow Brick Road". I have won the "lottery of life."

Many Thanks

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
~Charles Darwin~

Take Care,

 Jimmy B
 

Immunotherapy of cancer in 2012..Melanoma ..Jim Breitfeller

This is a great summary of Immunotherapy as we know it today. A must read for cancer patients, caregivers, Oncologists.

Download it today!!!
Melanoma Immunotherapy of cancer in 2012

It is somewhat technical but should be in the patient's, caregiver's and Oncologist's library. Knowledge is power. Power to heal ones disease.


“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

~Charles Darwin~

 Take Care,

Jimmy B

 

ASCO Review with Dr. John Kirkwood on Melanoma Therapies..jim Breitfeller

The full Audio of the Dr. Kirkwood interview at ASCO 2011


Please if you get a chance, listen to the full interview of Dr. John Kirkwood on the lastest therapies for Melanoma. It might help save your life or loveone's life.

Get a cup of coffee and a pad and pencil.

Enjoy




“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
~Charles Darwin~

Take Care,
Jimmy B

The Future of Immunotherapy.. Emerging concepts in biomarker discovery.Melanoma.Jim Breitfeller

Emerging concepts in biomarker discovery!!!!!2009

Take away: Get your blood and tumors profiled for Biomarkers. It could lead you to the right therapy to do.

A table of:
Emerging biomarkers potentially useful for the immunotherapy of cancer.

A Table of:
Emerging biomarkers potentially useful for the immunotherapy of cancer.



Source:Emerging concepts in biomarker discovery; The US-Japan workshop on immunological molecular markers in oncology



Dr. Kirkwood give his honest opinion on the clinical trails to date and where they are heading in the future incliding Biomarkers.



Please take an hour out of you day to view and listen, It may save you or your love one from doing the wrong therapy.

Dr. Kirkwood talks about autoimmunity through out the presentation
NIH Scientists Discover Secrets Of Helper T Cells Involved In
Autoimmunity.... Th17 cells!!!!!!









“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.

”~Charles Darwin~

Take Care,
Jimmy B

Perspectives on the Management of Metastatic Melanoma: The Expanding Role of Immunotherapy..Jim Breitfeller

Perspectives on the Management of Metastatic Melanoma: The Expanding Role of Immunotherapy CME
John M. Kirkwood, MD; Jedd Wolchok, MD, PhD; Vernon K. Sondak, MD

08/05/2010

Perspectives on the Management of Metastatic Melanoma: The Expanding Role of Immunotherapy





“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

~Charles Darwin~

Take Care,

Jimmy B

Pittsburgh Trip (06/28/06) in detail:How my Melanoma Journey Began..Jim Breitfeller

Pittsburgh Trip (06/28/06) in detail:

We left Rochester 4:00 am and arrived in Pittsburgh about 9:00 am. It’s a 5 hour trip if there are no detours along the way and you have a lead foot. I was very anxious to find out what my four options were so we had a cup of coffee and a croissant at their café and then proceeded to the doctor’s office. It was now about 9:30 am and my appointment was for 10:00 am. You know me, I like to be early. My wife says I am always too early. We proceeded to check in, and they gave me the normal treatment. They took my height, weight and vital signs. But this time they make a big deal about my weight. I had loss 4 lbs. So she calls over another nurse to retake my weight again (SOP) standard operating procedure. It was still short 4 lbs. I am thinking great, I am finally getting my weight under control. So, I turned to the nurses and said, “If you gave out cookies, you would not have these problems.” From their point of view, if you lose weight the cancer is active. Meanwhile, I’m thinking to myself, “Of course I lost weight. I’ve been so nervous. . . And, I just drove 291 miles without my breakfast. And we did make a couple of stops along the way.

Anyway, within 15 minutes we were called into the exam room. I am thinking this is great. The temperature in the room must have been 55 degrees. I was told to strip down to my underwear and put on one of those gowns with the slit up the back. I’m thinking, if this is anything like the last visit, I will freeze to death before anyone sees me. So, I told my wife, “If within 30 minutes, no one shows up, I’m going to put my clothes back on.” She said to me, that she was so cold that she had to go to the bathroom. So here we are, I’m shivering and my wife is crossing her legs to hold it in. So we are sitting and waiting, sitting and freezing for about 20 minutes. I did put my shoes back on to keep my feet warm.

Finally, the physician assistant steps into the room and greets us with a big “Hello!!!! ” She proceeds to tell us a little bit about the options, but then stops abruptly. She said: “the doctor should fill you in with all the details.” She then takes a look at my back, and with her hand, finds the lumps and starts counting them. She said “Good they are all there.” I am thinking, where the hell would they go, maybe on vacation? Nahhhhhhhhhhhh!
Anyway, no new lumps to report. She leaves the room to get the doctor and my wife follows her to find the bathroom. Dee returns relieved, just in time here hear a knock at the door.

In walks Dr. Kirkwood who greets us with a big smile and a hand shake. He asks us if Melissa, the physician assistant, has filled us in with the option details and could we go over the details with him to make sure we understood them. My wife and I turned to each other and our faces must have looked white to him. We tried to regurgitate what little information she had shared, although, it was VERY brief and we had not taken any notes. Melissa had told us that the doctor was going to go over the details. Well, my quick thinking wife said that Melissa gave us a very, very brief overview and that at our last meeting with him, we got all of 5 minutes of his time. I guess Dr. Kirkwood did not realize that the last time he had talked to us was before he had the PET/CT scans results and the options were different.
Anyway, he began to draw us a flowchart of the options on the exam table paper. He was really getting into it.

He started with the options at the top, and continued with the first line, second line and third line of defense therapy. It looked like an ISO document. I could draw it for you, but you’d probably fall asleep reading it. The worse part is, you have to have the therapies done in a certain sequence or you can not move to the next line of defense. Another problem, you can not mix and or match. To make things even worse, one of the better lines of defense had to be removed because I have the wrong blood type for the vaccine therapies. I was hoping to use this as my third line of defense.

My wife and I just sat there staring at the flowchart for what seemed like hours. We both started to run different scenarios in our head. We came up with the same conclusion. We needed a therapy that would allow us to “work outside the box” and not “cuff my hands”. We wanted to have the Ticilimumab/ Tremelimumab (from Pfizer …anti-CTLA-4 therapy as my second line of defense. CTLA-4 seems to slow down the immune response, so blocking it with an anti-CTLA-4 antibody may make the immune response more active.

Soooooooooooo! I signed my life away for the phase I study of Patrin in combination with dacarbazine under our protocol 03-091, which is currently not a nationally available trial.


I also signed up to allow Tumor Biopsies. Hey why not. It is FREEEEEEEE!!!! And I get two tumors removed for the price of one. And they say nothing is free in the world anymore. They will remove one and study it before treatment, and then take another one out and see what effect the chemo had on it during the first cycle of therapy. You know me I am always looking for a bargain--and, I am always doing some sort of research.

That is it from my end to yours. That sounds gross. Anyway take care, and keep those messages coming.


If you want to follow my journey you can read it here or at Carepages.com with comments.

http://www.carepages.com/carepages/jimmyBreitfeller

We needed a therapy that would allow us to “work outside the box” and not “cuff my hands”. We wanted to have the Ticilimumab/Tremelimumab (from Pfizer …anti-CTLA-4 therapy) as my second line of defense. CTLA-4 seems to slow down the immune response, so blocking it with an anti-CTLA-4 antibody may make the immune response more active.

That was then, This is Now, NED!!!

"Think Outside the Box"


“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
~Charles Darwin~

Take Care,
Jimmy B

Melanoma: A model for testing new agents in combination therapies..Jim Breitfeller

Melanoma: A model for testing new agents in combination therapies

Email to Dr. Mario Sznol 4-27-2010

Dr. Sznol,



I just read your paper on test new agents in combination therapies. I would like you to take a look at a combination that I did as a stage IV Melanoma Patient under the care of Dr. John M. Kirkwood.

Melanoma: A model for testing new agents in combination therapies



It involves interferon alpha, DTIC + Patrin-2 , Anti-CTLA-4 blockade and HD interleukin-2. By doing these drugs in a systematic way, I was able to eradicate 40+ nodules in my lungs and others in the subcutaneous area of my back. Dr. Kirkwood thought I was a one off. Based on my 25 yrs. in the Kodak research labs as an analytical chemist, I was able to research why my treatment worked.


I would like to present it to you so you can expand on the knowledge and put it to practice.


Please don’t let it fall on deaf ears. We the patients need your help to think outside the box and push the Melanoma research to new frontiers.



Melanoma and The Magic Bullet (Monoclonal Antibodies)





Take Care,

Jimmy B

New Options in Melanoma Therapy Dr John Kirkwood Feb 2010..Jim Breitfeller

Take Care,

Jimmy B

Combinatorial Therapy, Will the Big Pharmaceutical Companies do what Is Ethically Right?Melanoma..Jim Breitfeller

Combinatorial Therapy, Will the Big Pharmaceutical Companies do what Is Ethically Right?




They include Plexikkon,Bristol-Myer Squibb, Pfizer, La Roche and Novartis.


I and other researchers have come to the conclusion that Combinatorial Therapy may be the only way to beat The BEAST, Melanoma



“A very obvious combination that we are trying to move forward now is PLX4032 with ipilimumab. There is unanimity among the academic researchers that this must be investigated. Both companies see the logic, but are reluctant with neither of their drugs yet being FDA approved. As you know ipilimumab (and tremelimumab) have not overwhelmed the FDA yet as they were told to show a response rate greater than 10% and neither drug could do so. Most melanoma researchers believe that there are additional patients who get real and long-term benefit without having their tumors shrink significantly in size, but the randomized trials are needed to show that. The worrying sign is the outcome of the tremelimumab randomized trial. So, now we are down to waiting for the results of the dacarbazine vs. dacarbazine plus ipilimumab phase III trial. If this is negative, we are in trouble as ipilimumab will have no clear path forward with the FDA. If it’s positive, then the idea of moving ahead with combinations becomes much, much easier. But, even it that trial is negative, we know that CTLA-4 blockade can induce phenomenal responses in some. So, in that case, we have to figure out (1) who those patients are and, (2) how to make those responses happen in more patients. The other way of thinking of #2 is that PLX4032 doesn’t work for as long as we would like and that making those responses more durable would be desirable.”


~ Dr. Keith Flaherty ~


“ Mike Weber was kind to forward your paper and email. It appears that you have a very good sense of, and interest in, the immune response to melanoma and to cancer in general. I believe you are right that timing of the various components of the immune response, especially with combination therapies, is important, just as it is in the orchestration of a beautiful symphony.”


~ Dr. Craig Slingluff ~



Dr Markovic,. I thought you might be interested in this combinatorial therapy

“We actually just submitted a paper to this affect in a small clinical trial where we used a conventional chemotherapeutic agent to induce a systemic anti-tumor immune response by simply timing drug delivery. And, it worked! It was a small study, so the data is only descriptive. I'm gearing up to move to a large trial right now.”


~Dr. Svetomir Markovic~



“To answer your last question first: Mutations in B-Raf and N-Ras have been shown to cluster at specific nucleotides. This strongly suggests that there is a cellular mechanism which targets these sites in each gene. However, you are probably right, that anti-CTLA4 and IL2 are working by enhancing immune surveillance of your melanoma.”


~Dr. Natalie Ahn~



“In conclusion, the combination of MART-1/DC with concomitant tremelimumab is feasible in patients with metastatic melanoma, especially when tremelimumab is administered every 3 months, and results in durable objective clinical responses at the higher range of the expected objective tumor response rates with either therapy alone. Therefore, this combination warrants further study in patients with advanced malignant melanoma.”

~Dr. Antoni Ribas~


The rationale for the CTLA-4 and IL-2 combination is once you activated the CD4+ Tcell and it crossprime the CD8+ Tcell , the IL-2 needed for the maintenance and functionality of the CD8+ T-cell.
If lymphocytes are cultured in the presence of Interleukin 2, it results in the development of effector cells which are cytotoxic to tumor cells.

“Fine theory but just theory that has never been tested in relevant clinical setting…”

~Dr. John M. Kirkwood~

"Glad to see your post on this series. From our perspective, the melanoma community isn’t waiting for a “miracle” to fall out of the sky to help patients. It’s clear that no single drug will likely effectively treat the disease; instead, a combination of drugs may be the answer. The Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF) is coordinating the Melanoma Breakthrough Consortium to accelerate research by bringing together leaders in drug development, laboratory and clinical research to find effective treatments. This collaboration will take years off the process. Patients with advanced melanoma have few or no treatment options and there’s no doubt in the urgency of moving forward to test new therapies today. More information is available at http://www.melanoma.org."

~Tim Turnham~
Executive Director
Melanoma Research Foundation




This is why we the patients need the Pharmaceutical companies to work together. Each therapy will not work alone as a single agent. The response rate is between 10 and 22 percent for each therapy. If you do a sequential treatment with the proper dosage and timing, you will see a synergistic outcome.

“There are three parts of the equation in a clinical trial. There’s who has control, who gets the reward, and who takes the risk. Patients take all the risk, they have no control, and they get no reward. Patients ought to be the ones driving the process and get the reward out of it and have the control, since they are the ones that take the risk.”


~Greg Simons~


If we are taking all the risk, shouldn’t we have a say in our Destiny?
“We need to all work together for the common good of the Melanoma Patients”
“We need to take greed out of the equation and just do what is ethically for humanity”

~Jimmy B~

Which elevator will you, The Pharmaceuticals Companies will Take?



Take Care,

Jimmy B

Tremelimumab Shows Low But Durable Response Rate in Advanced Melanoma..Jim Breitfeller

Tremelimumab shows low but durable response rate in advanced melanoma
FEBRUARY 18, 2010

"NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a phase II trial in patients with advanced refractory or relapsed melanoma, tremelimumab (CP-675,206) showed a 6.6% objective response rate, with these responses lasting more than six months, a multinational group of researchers report in the February 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research."

Source:http://www.curetoday.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/news.showNewsArticle/id/13/news_id/2350

Tremelimumab shows low but durable response rate in advanced melanoma


As you can see, the response rate is low as a monothrapy, but if you can get the tumors to shed antigentic proteins by combining with chemotherapy, irradiation and other molecules to stop the repair of the tumor Cell DNA, then you have antigens to present on the the (APCs) Antigen Presenting Cells. Interluekin-2 can be added at the end of the T-cell expansion to help grow and maintain the (CTLs) Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes.





adapted from Henry Stewart Talks by Jim Allison



Take care

Jimmy B

Melanoma_Missionary


"Today might be the worst day of your life...but tomorrow could be the best. You just have to get there."
~Unknown~

Am I seeing Double?? Melanoma..Jim Breitfeller

I was able to get in touch Dr.Bucay the Dermatologist that went through therapy. She gave me her timeslines so I graphed it.



I guess the main take away is "There is Hope". Two complete responses doesn't make a cure. We used two different monoclonal antibodies with two different regimens - (medicine) a systematic plan for therapy (often including diet). It is interesting to note that the time between therapies are very close.

The overall time difference my be due to the fact that we had different tumor loads.

My bet is on the timing!!!


Take Care,

Jimmy B

Surviving Advanced Melanoma..A DERMATOLOGIST'S PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE.Melanoma.Jim Breitfeller

A DERMATOLOGIST'S PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE
Vivian W. Bucay, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Dept of Physician Assistant Studies
University of Texas Health Science Center - San Antonio, TX


"As a dermatologist in clinical practice since 1991, I have had many opportunities to make a positive impact on patients' lives by being the first to diagnose and treat skin cancers, above all nonmelanoma skin cancers. Fortunately, almost every patient has had a good outcome, primarily because of early diagnosis and intervention. Like most dermatologists, I understand that if I encounter high-risk melanoma or advanced disease, clinical management will most often become the responsibility of surgical and medical oncologists, while I will navigate shallower waters, such as screening family members and reviewing pertinent but often confusing literature to assist the patient and family in making important decisions regarding treatment.

I have gained quite a new perspective on melanoma, however, since becoming an advanced melanoma patient myself in 2006. I have previously chronicled my personal battle with the disease twice before, first in San Antonio Medicine, a publication of the Bexar County Medical Society, in an issue dedicated to the physician as patient,1 and second, in the 2008 Skin Cancer Foundation Journal, a publication targeted to the lay public.2

My purpose in this issue of The Melanoma Letter is twofold: to present treatment options for Stage III and Stage IV melanoma in the manner in which they became relevant for me, and to emphasize that good outcomes are not only possible, but becoming more attainable every day despite seemingly unfavorable odds.

DIAGNOSIS
On May 5, 2006, I asked my physician assistant (PA) to look inside my umbilicus to see whether or not she noticed anything unusual; I had noticed a white "residue" that appeared on dark clothing. There was no itching, bleeding, or tenderness, just a whitish discharge that had appeared intermittently for the previous few weeks. I had no recollection of any existing abnormality in the region, keeping in mind that I had seen my umbilicus at its peak convexity during each of my three pregnancies. Nonetheless, as I mentally reviewed the differential diagnosis — psoriasis, eczema, seborrheic dermatitis — melanoma was not on the list while I was undergoing a routine shave biopsy; my PA chose to do the biopsy for safety's sake despite noting nothing unusual herself.

So we were both surprised when we received the diagnosis by phone on May 10 from the dermatopathologist to whom I routinely send my patients' biopsies: amelanotic malignant melanoma, possibly metastatic. I suspected (or hoped) that it was a false positive produced by using a shave specimen rather than a full excisional biopsy. However, there was no error in the diagnosis, as immunohistochemistry proved positive for S-100, HMB-45, and MART-1."

The rest can be found at Surviving Advanced Melanoma..A DERMATOLOGIST'S PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE



I am amazed how similar my treatment and Dr. Bucay's was, and how we had the same outcome NED. This reinforces my scientific theory on the combination of the two treatments.

I am in the process of trying to get in touch So we can compare time lines.



Take Care,

Jimmy B

PeervVew exchange on Melanoma..Jim Breitfeller

http://www.peerviewpress.com/exploring-new-directions-melanoma-treatment-focus-emerging-immunotherapeutic-approaches

Exploring New Directions in Melanoma Treatment: Focus on Emerging Immunotherapeutic Approaches



Take Care,

Jimmy B

A hint of whats to come!!Melanoma..Jim Breitfeller

cdFinnished the graphics.



Now Look closely to when the IL-2 Is introduced in the therapy


The cat is out of the bag!!!!!!



WE controlled the expansion of the CD4+ cells and in doing so we controlled the surpressive T regs which are a subset of the CD4+ T-cells.

By controlling the expansion of the T Regs, One can shift the balance of the Immune system to initiate an immune response.



Take Care,

Jimmy B

Melanoma and the “Magic Bullet” (Monoclonal Antibodies) first Draft Melanoma..Jim Breitfeller

Just to let you know I posted the first draft of the Melanoma and the “Magic Bullet” (Monoclonal Antibodies). on Melanoma Missionary In the Shared File Section. you can download it for 19.95 (Only kidding) it is Free for the taking. It is 33 pages long and may help you in your quest for the Yellow Brick Broad. Just to let you know it is only the first draft. Revisions are sure to come. I wanted to get it to the people that need it the most, the Melanoma Patients.

Preview:

So, where does Interluekin-2 (IL-2) come into play? According to Byung-Scok et al and recent reports, IL-2 is not needed for developmental CD4+ CD25+ Treg cells in the thymus but does play an important role in the maintenance and function in the peripheral.18 Peripheral is defines as secondary system outside the bone marrow and thymus. It entails the site of antigen, immune system interaction. IL-2 is required for the peripheral generation of Tregs based Abbas’s and colleagues research.19 IL-2 prevents the spontaneous apoptosis of the CD4+ CD25+ Treg cells. It has been reported that patients with multiple advance-stage tumors have elevated levels of Tregs within the tumor microenviroment.20 Interluekin-2 is the survival factor for CD4+ CD25+ Treg cells.21 If the addition of IL-2 is on or before the maximum propagation of the CD4+ T cells, the Tregs population can increase 5-fold in a 96 hour period based on certain growth mediums. By controlling the addition of the endogenous IL-2, one has a knob to turn and can lead to the control of the expansion of the Tregs. When you combined this control with the anti-CTLA-4 blockage, you can shift the balance of the immune response.

Now here is the catch. The maintenance and function of the CD8+ T-cells require CD4+ cells which secrete IL-2. So we don’t want to deplete the CD4+ cells, we want to control the expansion of the Tregs which are a subset of the CD4+ cells. It has been postulated by some researchers that the Anti-CTLA-4 blockage also suppresses the Treg function in a different mechanism. By using IL-2 as the rate limiting factor, we can suppress the CD4+ CD25+ Treg cell expansion by controlling the concentration and timing of the Inerluekin-2 at the tumor microenvironment.

The Interluekin-2 plays another role in this Melanoma Maze. In a study by Janas et al, Il-2 increases the expressions of the perforin and granzyme A, B and C genes in the CD8+ T-cells. This increase expression causes the CD8+ T-cells to mature into Cytoxic T Lymphocytes (CTLs). The exogenous IL-2 is required for the granzyme proteins. As stated previously, CTLs have cytoplasmic granules that contain the proteins perforin and granzymes. A dozen or more perforin molecules insert themselves into the plasma membrane of target cells forming a pore that enables granzymes to enter the cell. Once in the tumor cell, these enzymes are able to breakup (lyse) the cell and destroy it. This is the beginning of the end for the cancer cells. The tumors begin to shrink and the rest is history, “An Inmmune Response Unrehearsed.”

On the other hand, prolong therapy with Il-2 can result in causing apoptotic death of the tumor- specific CD8+ T-cells.23
Clearly in a clinical setting, timing, dose, and exposure to these drugs play a major roll in the immunotherapy, and can have dramatic effects on the outcome. All it takes is that one magic bullet to start the immune reaction.


Take Care,

Jimmy B

First, how did I get the right antigen to be presented on the Antigen Presenting Cell (APC)? Melanoma..Jim Breitfeller

drI am so excited I could not stay away!!!!!!

So now we know what had transpired with the therapy, we need to know how and why it happened. I will try to decipher and or postulate each step of the therapy.

First, how did I get the right antigen to be presented on the Antigen Presenting Cell (APC)?

There are three types of Antigen Presenting Cells:
• Macrophages
• Dendritic Cells
• B Cells

We will focus our attention on the Dendritic cells (DCs ) because I postulate that these cells played a major roll in help generating an immune response. Induced Dendritic cells go through a developental program call maturation, which transforms them into efficient antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and T-cell activators. They are the most potent of the three APCs.
So what really happened? Well, Dr. Kirkwood started me out on Dacarbazine with PaTrin-2. Dacarbazine is a chemotherapy agent, approved by the FDA for fighting Melanoma. Dacarbazine alkylates and cross-links DNA during the phases of the cell cycle, resulting in disruption of DNA function, causing cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis.17 The only problem is that the Melanoma Cells overexpresses this enzyme called MGMT.
Proteins known as DNA repair enzymes are present in cells to target damaged DNA and reverse the modifications caused by alkylating agents. One such enzyme is methylguanine methyltransferase (MGMT). MGMT directly reverses the chemical modification guanine, one of the four building blocks of DNA, allowing normal replication to take place.

The DNA-repair enzyme MGMT is a key factor in resistance to alkylating agents. This is one reason why the Dacarbazine therapy doesn’t have a very successful response rate. The MGMT enzyme repairs what the dacarbazine cross-links. So, PaTrin-2 was added to the trial. This drug is known to inactivate the MGMT activity. By inactivating the MGMT enzyme, it makes the tumors cells more susceptible to the chemotherapy.

This therapy was able to get the tumors cells to shed some antigenic Protein which I theorize and was used as the presenting antigen. This made the antigen “tumor-specific.”

Base on a paper by Dr. Olivera J.Finn called Cancer Immunology published in the New England Journal of Medicine in June 19, 2008, there are three ways for self antigens to become Tumor Antigens:

1. Mutation
2. over expression
3. Post-translational Modification

I postulate that some failure of the tumor cells to repair the DNA damage cause by the Dacarbazine in the present of PaTrin-2 resulted in a mutation causing the cancer cells to shed an antigenic peptide. But I was still missing a signal or signals to activate my immune system.




I am still here plugging away.



Take Care,

Jimmy B

Ah haaaaa!!!!!!!!! Road map to Recovery Melanoma..Jim Breitfeller

Follow the Yellow Brick Road!!!



"What we can learn from individual patients is often overlooked in oncology," he said, adding that many of these remarkable cases have led to the development of new treatment strategies for melanoma such as vaccinations against specific antigens and bone marrow transplantation. "From clinical observation, we can learn a lot from these remarkable cases."



Alan Houghton M.D., Chief of Immunology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York





Well here are all the outside pieces to the Melanoma Puzzle. Now this may not work for every one but it did work so far for me. My last hurtle was how did my Immune system have the right antigen to present.



Without that piece of the puzzle, there would be no effective response.



Bobby Luker, this is for you and everyone who is still on the Yellow brick Road.







Take care



Jimmy B

PD-1 is a regulator of NY-ESO-1-specific CD8+ T cell expansion in melanoma patients.

This just came out!!!!!!!!!!

Dear James Breitfeller!

"Hot off the press - below is a roundup of recent papers
which have been authored by you, by one of your co-authors,
or from scientists in your contacts or bookmarks." Well I know I did not write this, so I must have been Dr. Kirkwood and Colleages


Fourcade Julien; Kudela Pavol; Sun Zhaojun; Shen Hongmei; Land Stephanie R; Lenzner Diana; Guillaume Philippe; Luescher Immanuel F; Sander Cindy; Ferrone Soldano; Kirkwood John M; Zarour Hassane M

Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) 2009;182(9):5240-9

Department of Medicine and Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.

"The programmed death 1 (PD-1) receptor is a negative regulator of activated T cells and is up-regulated on exhausted virus-specific CD8(+) T cells in chronically infected mice and humans. Programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) is expressed by multiple tumors, and its interaction with PD-1 resulted in tumor escape in experimental models. To investigate the role of PD-1 in impairing spontaneous tumor Ag-specific CD8(+) T cells in melanoma patients, we have examined the effect of PD-1 expression on ex vivo detectable CD8(+) T cells specific to the tumor Ag NY-ESO-1. In contrast to EBV, influenza, or Melan-A/MART-1-specific CD8(+) T cells, NY-ESO-1-specific CD8(+) T cells up-regulated PD-1 expression. PD-1 up-regulation on spontaneous NY-ESO-1-specific CD8(+) T cells occurs along with T cell activation and is not directly associated with an inability to produce cytokines.

Importantly, blockade of the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway in combination with prolonged Ag stimulation with PD-L1(+) APCs or melanoma cells augmented the number of cytokine-producing, proliferating, and total NY-ESO-1-specific CD8(+) T cells. Collectively, our findings support the role of PD-1 as a regulator of NY-ESO-1-specific CD8(+) T cell expansion in the context of chronic Ag stimulation. They further support the use of PD-1/PD-L1 pathway blockade in cancer patients to partially restore NY-ESO-1-specific CD8(+) T cell numbers and functions, increasing the likelihood of tumor regression. "


What does it mean?????

Programmed death-1 blockade (anti-PD-1 mAb) enhances expansion and functional capacity of human melanoma antigen-specific CTLs.

"The increased frequencies and absolute numbers of antigen-specific CTLs by PD-1 blockade resulted from augmented proliferation, not decreased apoptosis. Kinetic analysis of cytokine secretion demonstrated that PD-1 blockade increased both type-1 and type-2 cytokine accumulation in culture without any apparent skewing of the cytokine repertoire."

These findings have implications for developing new cancer immunotherapy strategies for Melanoma!!!!!!!

I believe Yale and MD Anderson have trials with the Moffit Center in Flordia coming on soon.

Jimmy B

Letter to Dr. Rosenberg! 3-24-2009 Melanoma ..Jim Breitfeller

Dr.Rosenberg, 3/24/2009

Remember you asked for my help getting the word out about your 72% response rate:
“Our latest treatment has a 72% objective response rate with 36% complete responses.

We are currently recruiting patients for our latest trial.
Is there some way to post this “Call for Patients” on the web site?”

Steve Rosenberg

Well now I have a request for you. I have been data mining on the internet and have been able to piece together why my combination therapy worked.

Below is a graphical representation of what went on using time as the x axis.



I was inoculated with anti-CTLA-4 mAb at the dose of 15mg/kg. Recent advance in autoimmunity research reveals that the innate immune system is able to recognize self-targets and initiate inflammatory response in a similar way as with pathogens. This is what anti-CTLA-4 blockage has done. Accordingly, alterations in cell morphology are recognized by the innate immune system resulting in an acute inflammatory response (Carroll and Holers,2005).


As you can see the innate immune antibody response takes about two weeks. In my therapy The Inflammatory response happen in 15 days.

Pinpointing when T cell costimulatory receptor CTLA-4 Is Engaged. In my therapy, I am trying to follow what had transpired and to try to back the findings up with scientific facts. So, after the inoculation of the 15mg/Kg of Tremelimumab (from Pfizer) IgG2 what happened?

Based on scientific theory the Monoclonal antibody blocks the CTLA-4 receptor causing the T-cell to stay active. So If my body’s chemistry is right, when and how do we know if the CTLA-4 blockage is engaged?

Dr. James Allison and colleagues in the late 1990’s did some studies with mice. In the mouse model, the anti-CTLA-4 blockage caused an autoimmune response which was diabetes in the mice. Before I go any further, I must make a note of caution. That is not all immune responses in mice models crossover to the human model, but the models are usually a good predictor. So with that said, In the research paper “Pinpointing when the T-cell costimulatory receptor CTLA-4 must be engaged to dampen diabetogenic T-cells”, it took about 12 days to see a response to the Anti-CTLA-4 mAb.

Source: http://www.pnas.org/content/97/22/12204.full

So if we have the danger signal and the B7 receptor blocked, all we need now is the antigen and the TCR T cell receptor to be engaged.

“Three major events must occur to induce CD8+ T cell–mediated, tumor-protective immunity against syngeneic melanoma. First, the T-cell receptor must be triggered by a (or multiple) self antigen–derived peptide MHC class I complex (7–13). Therefore, this event depends entirely on appropriate antigen presentation, which is most efficiently provided by mature dendritic cells (14). Peripherally tolerant or “ignorant” self-reactive T-cell clones, once properly activated, may serve as tumor-specific effector T cells (15, 16). Second, simultaneously with T-cell receptor triggering, a distinct second costimulatory signal must be delivered, mediated by IL-2, B7-1, or B7-2, which engage IL-2 receptors and CD28 on the surface of the T cell, respectively (17). A source of these cofactors for effective CD8+ T-cell stimulation can be provided by CD4+ T cells that release critical amounts of IL-2, or by mature dendritic cells that display an increased level of B7-1/B7-2 costimulatory molecules on their cell surfaces.

Third, inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1, IL-6, IL-12, and IFN-γ provide a third signal that acts directly on T cells (18), referred to as the “danger signal” (19, 20). This signal was found to optimally activate TH1 differentiation and lead to clonal expansion of T cells (18).”

Source: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=300854



CD4+ T cells bind an epitope consisting of an antigen fragment lying in the groove of a class II histocompatibility molecule. CD4+ T cells are essential for both the cell-mediated and antibody-mediated branches of the immune system:

• cell-mediated immunity
These CD4+ cells bind to antigen presented by antigen-presenting cells (APCs) like phagocytic macrophages and dendritic cells. The T cells then release lymphokines that attract other cells to the area. The result is inflammation: the accumulation of cells and molecules that attempt to wall off and destroy the antigenic material (an abscess is one example, the rash following exposure to poison ivy is another).

• antibody-mediated immunity
These CD4+ cells, called helper T cells, bind to antigen presented by B cells. The result is the development of clones of plasma cells secreting antibodies against the antigenic material.


So now with all three signals in, place we have the ability for cross priming the CD8+ T cells and clonal expansion.


The CD4+ T cells involved with manifold functionality:
Help or hinder anti-tumor response
But if you inoculate the system with IL-2 too early, you have CD4+ T cell expansion, and with that the CD4 Tregs increase as well which will suppress the immune response.

The therapeutic use of IL-2 is associated with a preferential expansion of CD4 cells expressing CD25, the alpha chain of the IL-2 receptor.

Treg cells:
unique T cell lineage

• CD4+ CD25high FoxP3high phenotype
• high expression of activation markers include CD25 (IL2Rα), GITR, CTLA4
• crucial for the maintenance of peripheral self tolerance
• involved in suppression of anti-tumor T cell reactions
• Immunosuppression is associated with the CD4+, but not with the CD8+ T cell population
• transfer of CD4+ effector T cells alone in CD4-/- host confers auto-immunity
• maintenance and function of CD8+ T cells requires CD4+ T cells which produce IL-2

The therapeutic use of IL-2 for HIV patients was aroused by an article by Kovacs et al. that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. That paper described a sharp increase in CD4 counts with a concomitant stable number of CD8 cells in 25 patients treated with IL-2.
Kovacs, J., M. Baseler, R. Dewar, S. Vogel, R. Davey, J. Falloon, M. Polis, R. Walker, R. Stevens, N. Salzman, J. Metcalf, H. Masur, and H. C. Lane. 1995. Increases in CD4 T lymphocytes with intermittent courses of IL-2 in patients with HIV infection. N. Engl. J. Med. 332:567-575
http://cdli.highwire.org/cgi/content/full/8/4/671

Treg cells are overrepresented in tumor lesions (lung, melanoma) and
reduced survival with increased infiltration of Treg cells.
They can inhibit the function of tumor infiltrating T cells (TILs).

With that in mind, In 1988, a research paper came out authored by Dr. Kyogo Itoh , Platsoucas,and Balch entitled: “Autologous Tumor Specific Cytotoxic Lymphocytes in the Infiltrate of Human Metastatic Melanomas” Activation by Interleukin 2 and Autologous Tumor Cells, and Involvement of the T Cell Receptor.

In the report all twelve Metastatic Melanoma tumor cell suspensions activated by IL-2 , TILs were present to a large degree. This confirmed your theory earlier. The TIL cell count increased to a maximum propagation in about 43 days. Tumors cells that were cultured with the TILs and the IL-2 were complete killed off. Lysing appeared five days into the experiment. The cytotoxic activity lasted for at least 59 days. In the control, without IL-2, the TILs eventually die off leaving the tumors cells enacted.

Itoh, K; Platsoucas, CD; Balch, CM
Autologous Tumor Specific Cytotoxic Lymphocytes in the Infiltrate of Human Metastatic Melanomas Activation by Interleukin 2 and Autologous Tumor Cells, and Involvement of the T Cell Receptor [published J . Exp. MED. The Rockefeller University Press. 1988 Oct 1; Vol 168 October 1988 1419-1441

http://jem.rupress.org/cgi/reprint/168/4/1419.pdf

In the above paper, It documented how long it takes to get maximum propagation of the CD4+, CD8+ and CD3+ T-cells. So I overlaid that information on my therapy. CD4+ T-cells propagate first, so if you inoculate at the CD4+ T-cells, you will generate more CD4+ clones.

It just so happens that the Il-2 therapy was introduced at the maximum CD8+ T-cell growth curve The same with the CD3+ cells also.

If lymphocytes (CD8+ T-cells) are cultured in the presence of Interleukin 2, it results in the development of effector cells which are cytotoxic to tumor cells.

So it looks like timing plays a major factor in how the Immune response plays out. I n a paper called “Opposing Effects of IL-2 in Tumor Immunotherapy: Promoting CD8+ T cell Growth and Inducing Apoptosis”. It showed in mice that the addition of IL-2 on the 4th and 5th day instead of days 1 and 2 had a dramatic effect on the couse of the response.Instead of being gone by day 12, the response lasted through day 30th. This was an indication that the timing of the IL-2 incoluation plays a major role in sequence response and duration.

Opposing Effects of IL-2 in Tumor Immunotherapy: Promoting CD8 T Cell Growth and Inducing Apoptosis Protul Shrikant2 and Matthew F. Mescher3
Center for Immunology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455

http://www.jimmunol.org/cgi/content/full/169/4/1753

Also, Prolong therapy with Il-2 has been shown to may hinder the CD8+ T cells.

“The timing and extent of exposure to IL-2 can clearly have dramatic effects on whether or not it is efficacious in activating, or reactivating, tumor-specific CD8+ T cell responses, making it difficult to know how to use it clinically in an optimal manner. The recently developed ability to detect and characterize tumor-specific T cells in patients using peptide/class I MHC tetramers may help in optimizing IL-2 therapy (40, 41, 42, 43). It may be possible to monitor activation of the cells as therapy proceeds and to stop administering the IL-2 when activation has occurred but before extensive apoptosis has been induced. The results described here strongly suggest that examination of the clinical effects of very limited IL-2 exposure would be warranted in trials using strategies that attempt to activate tumor-specific CD8 T cell responses”


http://www.jimmunol.org/cgi/content/full/169/4/1753


To summarize, Timing and Doses of both Anti-CTLA-4 and IL-2 can have a major effect on the immune response outcome. If you follow the dosing and timing regime, I postulate that you will see a synergist outcome with this combination therapy.

Please review my theory and make any comments.


Also I am enclosing a comparison graph of the IL-2 and CTLA-4 that you and your colleagues tried compared to the therapy I went through.

Thanks for listen and I hope to hear from you soon.

Best Regards

Jimmy Breitfeller

Melanoma Missionary