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Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: 16 hours ago | Replies (36)
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@dadcue
Does this mean what I think it means for you? Is it a cancer that might have been caused, or helped by Kevzara (or other IL6 targeting drug or ?)
I pray it's not cancer for you and that there's something the Dr's can do to help you. I've decided not to seek treatment for my breast cancer but would be interested to understand if the Kevzara might have a negative effect on the cancer. Like will it make it progress faster or am I completely misunderstanding that link you posted from Nih, PMC11480914?
I hope and pray you're not facing yet another medical ????
Don't even know what to call these anymore. From one type nightmare to another..... Blessings Mike.
Replies to "@dadcue Does this mean what I think it means for you? Is it a cancer that..."
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@boomermeg
I don't think my cancer was caused by Actemra. However, after I was diagnosed with cancer, my rheumatologist didn't think being on Actemra was a good idea. An active cancer diagnosis is generally a reason to pause or stop biologic medications because they suppress the immune system. We need our immune system to be at "full strength" to fight cancer.
The information I found suggests that IL-6 inflammation is something that drives the progression of the type neuroendocrine tumor that I have. I think dysregulated IL-6 inflammation might have provided the environment for my neuroendocrine tumor to form.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31466863/
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I have done CT-scans annually since 2020 to monitor my kidney stones. The tumor I have wasn't reported until 2025. However, an retrospective review of all my CT-scans back to 2020 showed that my tumor was present in 2020. Fortunately the tumor hasn't progressed very much since 2020.
I was still on Prednisone in 2020 but there is no evidence that prednisone increases the risk of cancer. However, I'm sure IL-6 inflammation was running wild until Actemra stopped that kind of chronic inflammation.
It is pure speculation on my part. Data on IL-6 inhibitors like Actemra directly treating or shrinking neuroendocrine tumors isn't a standard protocol. However, medical science knows that local IL-6 expression is heavily associated with tumor progression.
Actemra has only been paused by my rheumatologist until the cancer specialist gives his opinion about me continuing Actemra.