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Where are your current experiences with immunotherapy?
Esophageal Cancer | Last Active: Jun 8, 2025 | Replies (14)Comment receiving replies
Diagnosed 7/2021 w/stage 3 squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus and had chemo & proton radiation treatmens at MD Anderson Houston. PET revealed the tumor was gone after these treatments. After 7 weeks rest at home returned for esophagectomy surgery but new PET revealed cancer returned in 2 new locations. Surgery cancelled and new staging was 4B metastatic. Protocol for next round of treatments could be administered at a cancer center at home . So, I started a new round of chemo with immunotherapy (Opdivo) shortly after Christmas. I also signed up for periodic Signatera liquid blood biopsy tests which detects if any DNA of my cancer is present in my blood. On 3/1/22 after chemo ended once again no evidence of cancer. Stayed on Opdivo for about an additonal 20 months but side effect got rough. Here i am still in remission w/o immunotherapy but I continue to get Signatera blood tests about every 3 months and I have had "0" scores every time meaning no evidence of my cancer's DNA in my blood. For me immunotherapy was the game changer in a very bleak prognosis. BTW I'm 74.
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I too did Opdivo... but only the typical 1 year of 12 monthly infusions... but in the adjuvant setting (I'm adenocarcinoma and not squamous). I am always curious as to when and why Opdivo is applied... for a few reasons.
One... how quickly was PDL1 tumor expression known? And if at diagnosis, why wasn't Opdivo or Keytruda used concurrently with first-line treatments? Why was Opdivo used in the adjuvant setting? Is this due to % of PDL1 expression... or simply because of how clinical trials were run for each of these immunotherapy drugs, back in the day?
When we're your Opdivo side effects first noticed, right away? Or not much at all until the second year of infusions?
What were your specific sure effects... rash, severe itching? Joint pains? Lung inflammation? Other?
So happy to hear of your re-admittance to the NED club! Keep it up. And btw... I've been doing those Signatera blood draws since Oct 2020 about every 3 months. I believe they just completed my last testing last week as I'm 5 years post-op in July... They're no longer going to monitor me. I suppose they will deem me cured. Not sure how I feel about this... but I'm scheduling my last CT scans now. Be well.
Gary