CancerCompass message board discussion started by gr8ful4itall on 5/9/2008 http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,23892,0.htm Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ My mother in law just got her first MRI since treatment ended almost 2 months ago. On a positive note the results show no regrowth but on a negative there is no shrinkage. The doctor has recommended that we continue using the temodar now 5/23 for the next 3 months without the radiation. She has already contacted Duke and the doc there advised her they would recommend the same course of treatment but after these 3 months and her next MRI, they would start her on Avastin. They also said if her doc is willing that they would correspond with her existing docs for her future treatment...so that would be great! My first question is...how does Avastin work? I have heard alot of people say how well it has worked for them and their loved ones. Also I hear the course of treatment is avastin/cpt11...is one like radiation and the other chemotherapy? Her diagnosis was almost 3 months ago and she has very little deficits....My 2nd question is... has it been proven that either of these drugs has had a neurological side effect on a patient?I should and probably will research it more...but with the kids here I find it hard to just get my house cleaned! Anyone with info would be a big help. God bless everyone and prayers for you and your loved ones~ gr8ful4itall Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hi there.Avastin is a targeted therapy.  It cuts off the blood supply to the tumor.  Tumors need a good supply of blood to grown.  While the Avastin is cutting off the blood supply, the CPT-11 (Irinotecan) kills the cancer cells.  Anyhow, this is what these two infusions are supposed to do.   My husband has been on this treatment regimen since July 25, 2007.  He was put on this after radiation and Temodar failed to work.  Not only did the tumor not shrink -the post radiation MRI showed progression.  So, if your mom's tumor is stable, that is a good thing.  The Avastin and CPT-11 have not caused noticable neurological deficits in my husband.  He does have some slight confusion but I think its more likely the tumor - but maybe not.  There is a lot of talk out there about "chemo brain."  He is being treated at Duke.  I'd let them work with your Mom's doctors!  We're at 13 month from diagnosis and still doing well.Best to you!Barb bpanc Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT My husband (dx. 8/07) did the standard treatment, as well.  He did 2 months of the 5/23 Temodar and the doctors at Duke began him on the CPT-11/Avastin regimen.  He completed two 6 week cycles of this and now are now continuing the CPT-11/Avastin and adding back Temodar 5/23 along with it, for 8 weeks.  MRI's have been good.  The first two showed shrinkage and this last one was stable.  He is doing pretty well with these two treatment methods melded at the same time.  I don't know if anyone else has tried this, but the docs at Duke wanted to give it a try and see what results we could get.  The doctors at Duke coordinate my husband's treatment with our local oncologist.  It's great! KB1263 KB1263 Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT My mom did the Avasitn/CPT 11 protocol for over a year and it worked wonders, shrinking the tumor to near nothing.  Since there was nothing to kill, the CPT 11 was discontinued (2 years after her GBM diagnosis!) and the Avastin was continued to prevent any new growth.  This worked great.  My mom went off all treatment during Januaray of '08.  She's had to resume treatment due to regrowth, but her most recent resection went very well, and other than some difficulty in recalling proper nouns and very minor short term memory issues, she's doing great.    Devdaughter Sun, 11 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT  On 5/10/2008 KB1263 wrote:My husband (dx. 8/07) did the standard treatment, as well.  He did 2 months of the 5/23 Temodar and the doctors at Duke began him on the CPT-11/Avastin regimen.  He completed two 6 week cycles of this and now are now continuing the CPT-11/Avastin and adding back Temodar 5/23 along with it, for 8 weeks.  MRI's have been good.  The first two showed shrinkage and this last one was stable.  He is doing pretty well with these two treatment methods melded at the same time.  I don't know if anyone else has tried this, but the docs at Duke wanted to give it a try and see what results we could get.  The doctors at Duke coordinate my husband's treatment with our local oncologist.  It's great! KB1263I just found this site. My Brother-in-law was diagnosed with GBM IV May 31, 2007. He is also being treated at Duke and has followed the regime you have described however he did not show any changes in his MRI until this past week (treatment 3 of 6 CPT11-Avastin). There was a slight shrinkage. This was wonderful news for us. What grade of GBM does your husband have? How old is he? Is he still working?  Sorry for the questions. My prayers are with you and your family.   SILHope Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT