'Slow But Sure' Progress Toward Less Toxic Tools To Fight Cancer

Baltimore, July 1 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Jul, 2018 ) :John Ryan is just one of the miracles to emerge from the Johns Hopkins cancer unit in Baltimore. An immunotherapy treatment -- highly effective in a minority of patients -- saved his life after a lung cancer diagnosis.

The retired military nuclear reactor specialist will celebrate his 74th birthday in July, and his battle with cancer illustrates the promises and failures of immunotherapy, a burgeoning field in which the pharmaceutical industry is investing heavily.

Ryan has been able to attend the graduations of three of his children, and will take part in the wedding of one of his daughters this summer -- even though doctors expected he had just 18 months to live in June 2013.

"That's exciting stuff to be around for," he said.

But he knows of plenty people who have not been so lucky.

"In five years, I have lost a lot of dear friends." Immunotherapy is one of two major categories of drugs against cancer.

The best-known is chemotherapy, which has been used for decades and aims to kill tumors but is so toxic that it also attacks healthy cells, leading to major side effects like weakness, pain, diarrhea, nausea and hair and weight loss.

Ryan went through all that in 2013, and his tumor persisted.

Exhausted by chemo and wracked with pain, Ryan was accepted into a last-ditch clinical trial using nivolumab (brand name Opdivo) in late 2013.

The drug was delivered intravenously at the hospital, at first every two weeks, then once a month.

His tumor rapidly disappeared, and 104 injections later, the main side effect has been itching.

Recently, a mysterious mass appeared in his right lung. It was treated with radiation.

"They shot me with chemo, it almost killed me. And now I have been sucking up immunotherapy, and it's been good. My quality of life has been great," said Ryan.