Keytruda, an immunotherapy drug, is shrinking the Merkel Cell tumors

Hi @lenny48ca

That is wonderful news that Keytruda is working and you are feeling great!!! Amazing! Thanks for sharing!!! That gives us all hope as they continue to develop immunotherapies! Prayers that it completely knocks out your cancer!

I can’t say I am totally surprised at my response to the treatment. Throughout my 75 years I have been mostly healthy rarely getting colds and such. So I went into treatment believing Keytruda would do it’s job of supercharging my immune system and it appears it has. I am beginning to believe that the new treatments being developed now are going to save a lot of lives that would otherwise be lost. Perhaps even a cure is possible.

Look into adding ivermectin to your check point inhibitor. Google the research. Looks like it has the potential to enhance the therapeutic benefits of Keytruda. I’m now on both along with 5-FU/Lucovorin for stage 4 mucin producing urothelial adenocarcinoma of prostate. FOLFOX for 4 rounds with too much neuropathy from oxaliplatin. PDL1 score 100 so got coverage for Keytruda. 1 round in so stay tuned.

Researchers are studying Ivermectin to see if it may be used as an anti-cancer drug and early studies show promise. Please note that this research is in the early stages (mice studies) and has not yet been tested in human trials. Ivermectin is not a proven standard treatment for prostate cancer.

Ivermectin combined with other chemotherapy drugs or targeted drugs is being studied in early clinical trials and shows promise in patients for whom conventional chemotherapy has not worked in some cancer types. It may be effective against drug-resistant cancer cells.

– Ivermectin, a potential anticancer drug derived from an antiparasitic drug https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7505114/

@mpuap, do you have further studies showing efficacy of ivermectin with other cancer drugs? Are you on a clinical trial?

I did chemo and immunotherapy together for a month and responded well, then insurance issues cut off the immuno and I could only get it at a far off cancer treatment center. Still alive and will see what the future holds with getting it again

Unfortunately there are no trials with my rare cancer. No data on treatment so everything is a trial of sorts. No money in rare stuff. I’m also using Lycopene, quercetin and Curcumin in a rational cycle relative to chemo. Hope to develop a protocol of sorts for treatment for this cancer as the limited data appears to indicate 4.8 months median period for dx to dead. My initial pathology was in January of this year with pet scan confirmation of stage 4 in April. FOLFOX started 5/9. Just received second round of Pembrolizumab plus 5-FU/Lv today. Dosing ivermectin at 0.4mg/kg days 1-3 each week. Any additional info would be appreciated eve is anecdotal. Cheers!

Is this protocol recommended and/or monitored by your oncologist?

It’s my protocol combined with my oncologists protocol. We discuss my ideas and I present academic studies to support my ideas and if he disagrees I do not proceed. I also have a close oncologist friend that I discuss ideas with to help vet rational decision making. Nothing inside the box so digging deep outside the box.

Merck the maker of Keytruda and Moderna the maker of mRNA vaccines are in partnership. They are running trials now using a combination of Keytruda and targeted vaccines created for individual patients based upon their specific tumor. The results thus far are very encouraging. I hope the link below will take you to the article I have referenced. One thing more are your thoughts, which have real power that can greatly influence the results you are seeking. Do your best to keep any doubts at bay because a treatment that will work for you is just around the corner.
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/cancer-vaccines-poised-unlock-new-treatment-paradigm-with-merckmoderna-data-2023-06-05/

Thank you for the link. It appears that they are trying to turn cold tumors hot so they are more likely to respond to immune therapy. See “Nature” journal article on turning cold tumors hot with ivermectin in treatment resistant triple negative breast cancer.