34 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • FEBRUARY 1, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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The changing landscape of lung cancer treatment
At age 64, Bob Carlson was diagnosed
with non-small cell lung cancer, and he
felt the diagnosis was like “an expiration
date being stamped on his life, like a milk
carton,” and the time he had left “wasn’t
nearly enough.” Bob, his wife, Julia, and
doctors chose chemotherapy to combat
his illness-but according to Bob, his quality
of life aft er taking the treatments was
non-existent.
Bob became so sick from the chemotherapy
that he felt the treatments were
almost worse than the disease itself. He
talked to his doctor, who said there was
nothing else they could do. Bob was on
the verge of giving up hope when his
physician sent him to a diff erent research
center. Th ere, Bob met with another physician
who presented him with a new
option and renewed his fi ght.
Understanding the changing lung cancer
treatment landscape
Lung cancer is the most common cancer
worldwide, representing approximately
13 percent of all cancer diagnoses.
While a cure for lung cancer does
not currently exist, cancer immunotherapy
is changing the treatment landscape
and improving the prognosis for many
people with lung cancer. Several immunotherapy
treatments are approved for
lung cancer by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), including some
as a fi rst-line treatment for advanced lung
cancer patients.
Immunotherapy is widely considered to
be the most promising new cancer treatment
approach since the development
of the fi rst chemotherapies in the 1940s.
Cancer immunotherapy treatments harness
and enhance the innate powers of the
immune system to fi ght cancer.
According to a report published in
the Annals of Oncology by the Cancer
Research Institute, a nonprofi t organization
dedicated to the advancement of
cancer immunotherapy research, there
are over 2,004 immunotherapy agents in
development with over sixty clinical trials
evaluating immunotherapy combinations
in lung cancer. Th ere are 26 immunotherapies
approved by the FDA, including six
immunotherapy agents for the treatment
of lung cancer.
“Today, the lung cancer space has the
largest number of combination clinical
trials underway, evaluating how two or
more medications can work better when
taken together. Th ese trials hold much
promise for patients, but there are still a
lot of misperceptions surrounding clinical
trials, with many people thinking
that these studies are only an option
aft er other treatments have failed,” said
Dr. Jill O’Donnell-Tormey, chief executive
offi cer and director of scientifi c
aff airs at the Cancer Research Institute.
“However, many of the clinical trials currently
underway are evaluating immunotherapy
treatments for front-line use.”
Th e Cancer Research Institute off ers
the Cancer Immunotherapy Clinical Trial
Finder as a free resource to help patients
match themselves with appropriate trials
based on their specifi c cancer diagnosis,
stage, and treatment history.
“We hope that the Clinical Trial Finder
will help more people learn about potential
clinical trial options earlier in their
patient journey so that they might have
better outcomes,” said Dr. O’Donnell-
Tormey.
How a clinical trial made all the difference
In August 2013, Bob became the very
last patient to enroll in a particular clinical
trial for non-small cell lung cancer, evaluating
a checkpoint inhibitor-a promising
immunotherapy approach that works by
“taking the brakes off ” the immune system
to allow it to mount a stronger and
more eff ective attack against cancer.
Once he started the immunotherapy
treatment in the clinical trial, Bob and his
doctors realized in short order that the
treatment was working. “We saw tumor
reduction rather quickly-which was
amazing. And to top it off , unlike chemotherapy,
which involved lengthy infusions
that took many hours and left me ill due
to the side eff ects, the experience of having
the immunotherapy treatment in this
case only took about 30 minutes, and has
very little impact on my quality of life.
You take your medicine, and you go on
with your life. I have had to make zero
lifestyle changes,” said Bob.
Now, almost fi ve years later, Bob and
Julia are back pursuing their hobby of wildlife
photography and travel. He is hopeful
that more patients will benefi t from emerging
immunotherapy treatments-through
new FDA-approved therapies and through
clinical trial participation.
“My only wish is that I had known
about the immunotherapy clinical trial
sooner,” he continued. “And I hope that
through continued research more immunotherapy
treatments are discovered that
work for all patients with all cancer types.”
Th ere are many other cancer patients
and survivors, like Bob, who have been
given new hope thanks to cancer immunotherapy
research and clinical trials. For
more information on cancer immunotherapy
and how to match with an open
clinical trial, visit the Cancer Research
Institute Cancer Immunotherapy Clinical
Trial Finder at https://www.cancerresearch.
org/patients/clinical-trials.
Courtesy BPT
Bayside Kiwanis pancake
breakfast helps local hospitals
Th e Kiwanis Club of Bayside held its
annual Applebee’s pancake fundraiser
on Jan. 20. At this year’s event,
Assemblyman Ed Braunstein was honored
for his commitment and service
to the Bayside community and its surrounding
areas. Th e proceeds of this and
other Bayside Kiwanis events are used
to support Ronald McDonald House,
St. Mary’s Hospital for Children, the
Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Center at
Cohen’s Children’s Hospital and the St.
Albans Veterans Hospital. Additionally,
each summer the club sends deserving
local children to an an annual sleepaway
camp at Kamp Kiwanis in Rome N.Y.
Other club initiatives include mentoring
the Key Club members of Cardozo High
School. Shown at the event are (from left
to right) Assemblyman Braunstein, Club
Vice President Dr. Salwa Elmeawad,
and Club President Lenny Mancuso.
Th e Bayside Kiwanis meets on the
fi rst Wednesday each month at the
Community Baptist Church of Bayside;
for more information, email baysidekiwanisclub@
gmail.com.
Photo courtesy of Lenny Mancuso