Immunotherapy

My mother in law was treated for gall bladder cancer two years ago. The gall bladder was removed and we all thought that the cancer was gone. Recently however she has been diagnosed with bile duct cancer and we fear that this time surgery will not be possible.

Does anyone have experience with immunotherapy against bile duct cancer? We have been looking at treatments offered in Germany and in China - but would like to hear from someone who might have tried this.

Even if surgery will be possible we are considering whether or not immunotherapy could be used as a supplementary treatment.

Appreciate any help and advice. Thank you.

On 12/3/2007 KenDK wrote:

My mother in law was treated for gall bladder cancer two years ago. The gall bladder was removed and we all thought that the cancer was gone. Recently however she has been diagnosed with bile duct cancer and we fear that this time surgery will not be possible.

Does anyone have experience with immunotherapy against bile duct cancer? We have been looking at treatments offered in Germany and in China - but would like to hear from someone who might have tried this.

Even if surgery will be possible we are considering whether or not immunotherapy could be used as a supplementary treatment.

Appreciate any help and advice. Thank you

Hi KenDK,

I was going to address you issue, but I've been called away to a family emergency...I will get back with you later tomorrow...Leonard

Hi Leonard

Thanks! Looking forward to hearing from you.

Kenneth

Hello Kenneth,

Well, regarding your original message about your mother-in-law...

I see in your message the gallbladder was removed...I'm assuming the cancer tumor was a primary cancer.  I'm also assuming her doctor removed the cystic duct leading the her common bile duct.

I would be like you and believe, great they found the cancer in the gallbladder and removed it before it spread to other organs of the body.

I'm very sorry to hear about the latest diagnoses.  If you read some of my other comments regarding bile duct cancer, you know that this is a very serious situation.

You mentioned surgery may not be possible.  Did her doctor say why surgery may not be an option? Also did her doctor say where the cancer was located in her biliary system and if it's only isolated in a bile duct and not also in surrounding lymph nodes. This may be the reason for the no  surgery option. 

As you may know Chemo and Radiation is not the best approach to handle this type of cancer...surgery if possible should be the plan of attack. I hope surgery is an option.  

As far as Immunotherapy...I only know what I've read.  I went to Google and typed in Immunotherapy and a lot of information popped up.  I think you and other family members should review this issue and go from there.

I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help...cancer of any kind is serious business and I believe bile duct cancer very close to the top of the list.

Bottomline, In my opinion, I would not waste too much time searching for alternatives with regard to dealing with bile duct cancer.

Stay strong, your family needs someone that can look at this situation and help them make serious decsions.

Sincerely....Leonard    

ve

Hi Leonard

Thanks for your reply.

Fortunately we have this last Friday had some good news. It seems that surgery might be possible. Her cancer is a Klatskins tumor. It's located quite low outside the liver. But there are indications (on a CT scan) that the cancer may also be located higher in the bilar system and in two lymph nodes. This still needs to be checked.

We will now focus on surgery.

Our concern is now where the operation should be done? In Denmark where we live the number of cases is "only" 200 per year. Surgery is performed in a smaller percentage of this. Thus the experience with this is rather limited in DK.

We would like to contact hospitals in other places of the world to get some information upon standard procedures with this decease. We know of UCSF in San Francisco and John Hopkins in Baltimore. From your previous responds on this site I know that your wife was treated at UCSF - so I guess you can recommend this hospital. We would appreciate advice on whom to contact from you and anyone else reading this.

To some of your questions I can say that her cancer was first accidently discovered when she had her gall bladder removed two years ago. Thus at that time the large procedures of liver resection etc. was not performed. So we think that the current cancer must be a new incident.

PS: Thanks for your encouraging words.

Br

Ken

On 12/9/2007 KenDK wrote:

Hi Leonard

Thanks for your reply.

Fortunately we have this last Friday had some good news. It seems that surgery might be possible. Her cancer is a Klatskins tumor. It's located quite low outside the liver. But there are indications (on a CT scan) that the cancer may also be located higher in the bilar system and in two lymph nodes. This still needs to be checked.

We will now focus on surgery.

Our concern is now where the operation should be done? In Denmark where we live the number of cases is "only" 200 per year. Surgery is performed in a smaller percentage of this. Thus the experience with this is rather limited in DK.

We would like to contact hospitals in other places of the world to get some information upon standard procedures with this decease. We know of UCSF in San Francisco and John Hopkins in Baltimore. From your previous responds on this site I know that your wife was treated at UCSF - so I guess you can recommend this hospital. We would appreciate advice on whom to contact from you and anyone else reading this.

To some of your questions I can say that her cancer was first accidently discovered when she had her gall bladder removed two years ago. Thus at that time the large procedures of liver resection etc. was not performed. So we think that the current cancer must be a new incident.

PS: Thanks for your encouraging words.

Br

Ken

Hello Ken,

I may have mentioned, my wife also had a Klatskin Tumor located in the Hepatic Y Bile Duct System which is located just under the liver.

She also had two lymph nodes infected and removed.

My wife is doing very very well...the entire staff at the UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco saved my wife's life.  And currently she is under the care of three very dedicated Doctors.

The contact information is as follows:

Doctor Ryutaro Hirose, M.D.

Professor of Surgery Transplantation and General Surgery 

505 Parnassus Ave. Room 884

San Francisco, CA 94143

415-353-1061

His patient is my wife Karen V.

Hope this information helps

Leonard

Hello Ken and Leonard,

In case it is of interest and further to my earlier message today, I live in Rio de Janeiro where I had the Whipple procedure in 1998 at the ProCardiaco Hospital (surgeon Cesar de Paiva Barros and his team) under a private UK health plan scheme. Previously, after diagnosis with ultrasound, I had my gall bladder removed (no cancer in it, but it was inflamed and full of cholesterol stones) and a stent put in to open up the duct. No signs of cancer in my lymph nodes or elsewhere at the time. The surgeon did not recommend chemo or radiation, doubting their effectiveness in these cases. Good luck. Annettejb