Tarceva erlotinib treatment
Common Questions and Answers about Tarceva erlotinib treatment
tarceva
since then the diesies showed improvment and shrinkage in tumor. . HE has been under maintance treatment with Tarceva since 2009 upto now. the previous PET-CT ON JULY 2011 WAS NEGATIVE AND CONCLUSION was that no evidence of residual hypermetabolic disease seen in lung.. but the recent CT showed smal new lesion 1,8 *2 cm. in comparison to previous.and his new PET -CT in TURKEY hospital FN shows new FDG(+)SUV max:5) pulmonary nodule in the lower lobe of the lung.
Thanks for your response. To clarify: his treatment was adjunctive. At the time they saw no sign of cancer outside the lung. Now, however, after 4 rounds of chemotherapy the disease seems to have spread during treatment with taxotere and cisplatin: it's now in the liver, bones and adrenal glands. His original tumor was EGFR positive that is why Tarceva came up as a viable second step.
She has done very well with chemo and radiation until recently. She was started on Tarceva about 3 weeks ago. Recently, she has been experiencing a lot of confusion. I cannot find anywhere that this is a side effect of Tarceva (it is the only drug she is on at this time). Is it possible that she has a brain metastases? If not, what are the likely causes.
how can i get doctor to prescribe tarceva for inoperable lung cancer with secondary brain cancer has recieved one chemo session for lung then 5 radiotherapy for brain...help??????
m doing research as quickly as I can to help she and her husband make an informed decision about what to do...if anything. The local drs are recommending 4 weeks of full brain radiation followed by tarceva. Prior to the finding the mets, they were planning 6 weeks of radiation to the right lung in combination with etoposide and cisplatin.
I'd appreciate any feedback. My thanks in advance to all responses....
4 rounds of chemo of taxotere and cisplatin seem to have not worked as now he has mets in his liver, bones and adrenal glands. His doctor is aftraid that Tarceva is not recommended to someone with mets to the bone. That is not what I read. Can you please let me know if Tarceva is for him and whether that can hep stop or slow down the disease?
Thanks.
Conventional chemotherapy may indeed be difficult for such cases due to the toxicities associated with such treatment.
There is a drug called erlotinib which has a different side-effect profile from conventional chemotherapy. The usual side-effects are a rash and diarrhea. There are particular subtypes of lung cancer which may have a better response with this drug (and non-smokers seem to benefit from it more than the smokers) .
Since he had some treatment before, then he would have some insight into how well he was able to tolerate the treatment before. If the choice of the Tarceva was based on this poor tolerance, then there are indeed no clear treatment options as to what to do.
One thing to bear in mind though is that the goals of treatment at the present time are likely different from before.
If the node is positive for cancer metastases, this may imply disease progression in spite of Tarceva intake. Tarceva may have to be replaced with another more effective chemotherapy drug. Radiation therapy to shrink the node and relieve the swelling may also have to be done. Consult with your oncologist as soon as possible so you can be properly assessed.
My parents live in Jordan and they have just returned from a trip to Israel to see a doctor. Now my father is going to get treatment of I think Chemo pills in Jordan.
I am very skeptical, and correct me if I am wrong, but (financial obstacles aside) would it not improve all chances considerably if my Father were to go to somewhere more advanced like Mayo Clinic or any of the top rated Clinics around the world to get treated there?
He has been through several chemo and radiation treatments and is now starting on Tarceva. It has been a long road so far and he has his good days and bad days. I don't think there's any way even the doctors can tell us how much time they have left specifically. His doctor said it could be a year, 5 or even 10, but of course we are all hoping and praying for at least 20 more with him.
They state it is somewhere between a stage 2 and 3 due to the size. He is schedules to start radiation treatment in a week. However, they did state he is fit enough to have sugery but there is not guarantee he would not have complications from this. We are struggling to determine what is the better path to take. Will the surgery give him a better chance vs the radiation. Do studies show a better survival rate. Afraid that after surgery he may be worst off.
More input would be helpful.
Topotecan/docetaxel weekly reduced CA125 level within 6 weeks to 40, but it increased thereafter and treatment was stopped because of alveolitis and CA125 had reached 70 again. Next chemo was taxol weekly with avastin biweekly, which led to a fast drop of CA125 (after 3 weeks down to 20!). But as with the former chemos, the effect was only of short duration. CA125 rose again and that time PET/CT showed active metastases: two small foci in the pelvis and one lymph node in the groin. Carbopl.
She is not a candidate for treatment and is refusing even palliative tx such as Tarceva. PET Scan showed no evidence of cancer in brain, liver or bone. Because she is experiencing no symptoms she is hesistant to participate in a home hospice program. What symptoms are generally experienced and if possible a general timeline for disease progression.
Hi. Which particular "chemosensitivity test" are you referring to? There is no single laboratory procedure which can test for the sensitivity to chemotherapy of all types of tumors. In breast cancer, there's the Estrogen Receptor (ER) and Progesterone Receptor (PR) assays to determine sensitivity to hormonal treatment. There's also the HER-2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) assay for determining sensitivity to Trastuzumab.
In 2005, he had Tarceva. In 2008 they discovered metastasis to the liver (3 lesions) and he underwent chemo again (I think Avastin) and he finished the treatment in March. The doctor said the tumors in both the lungs and liver were smaller.
For the past 3 weeks he´s been vomiting, but sporadically. There is no pattern. It doesn´t matter if he eats lightly or heavily. Some days he vomits once, some days nothing.
He went to see a Gastroenterologist. They did a sonogram...
WOW, this is the first time I've ever been on a site and started writing to total strangers. Its kinda cool! I SO appreciate all of the advice! Well, I should come clean with something...last Sept I was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Inoperable, i was given 6 months to a year to live... with treatment. I've THANKFULLY made it past a year. i guess the LAST thing i should be worried about is my weight, right? The pain i get daily is from my chemo medicine, Tarceva.
It has already spread to the spine, both lungs and the lymph system. Doctors triede Tarceva for 3 weeks but her body had a very bad reaction. For the spine they did radiotherapy. But since she was diagnose 3 months ago she has lost aalmost her voice. she is using oxygen for the major part of the day but doctors don't wan't to talk about time. no more medes will be given and she was reffer to hospice....
Oh my God! Thank you Lord for letting me hear from someone with darn near my situation!
I had lower left lobectomy May 29, 2009. Stage 1A BAC (nodule 1.3 cm)...no chemo (there seems to be only one that "might" work, Tarceva) and no radiation (what will they burn out? the lobe's gone already).
90 % "chance" of making 5 years is what they tell me. Mucho NO info on BAC. Only bad prognosis.
I have already survived breast cancer (BRCA 2 Mutation) for 6 YEARS!
He started Tarceva this January but it seems it did not work as the cancer spread to brain…. 9 mets were identified in the initial MRI 2 weeks ago but the subsequent MRI right before yesterday’s gamma knife procedure (which removed 7 mets) evidenced numerous other tiny/small tumors spread all over the brain….He has been in relatively good condition (eating well, no weight loss) until these new mets emerged (which affected his walking and reading ability)….
So, the plan is a 12 week course of chemotherapy and if it works well for me the possibility of radiotherapy later on and Tarceva too. So now I have to chose which drugs to go with and maybe I'm wrong but I'm thinking that if the Cisplatin works better in reducing the tumors I may have a better chance of the radiotherapy also working more effectively too.
Hi, My 69 year old Dad has stage 4 Lung nsc cancer that he has been battling for over 2 years with good results from first Tarceva, then Chemo and prior to that radiation to mets to his brain. He is an otherwise healthy, robust, nonsmoking person. Last month he started experiencing problems walking, nausea and headaches. He was referred to a Neurologist who recommended a Shunt to help regulate the fluid in his brain. It has been a nightmare ever since.
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