MK-1454-001

We are now on track to to start the next trial drug on September 25th.  I have some scans tomorrow for a baseline of the disease and a biopsy on Tuesday so they can compare it to another later on in the trial.  This will probably be a little more intensive treatment then I am used to.  On Wednesday the 25th, I will go in first thing in the morning to Huntsman where I will visit with the doctors and they will take some blood.  After that then I will go to the interventional radiologist where the Dr. will inject the trial drug MK1454 directly into the tumor in my liver.  After that, I will be given a dose of Pembro (this is the drug I was first put on several years ago).  This first time I get the pleasure of staying in the hospital overnight for monitoring.  Should be in the hospital all day Wednesday and leaving Thursday morning.  The injections I get will happen twice out of every 3 weeks, fortunately all of this is done at Huntsman on the hill.  I will also get Pembro every 3 weeks.  The hope with this trial is that we get a receptor to light up so that my immune system can see the cancer cells.  I like the new doctor I have been seeing.  Dr. Grossman seems to be much more positive about the treatments and the future prospects.  Below are a couple of articles on MK-1454

https://investors.merck.com/news/press-release-details/2018/First-Presentation-of-Early-Data-for-Mercks-Investigational-STING-Agonist-MK-1454-in-Patients-with-Advanced-Solid-Tumors-or-Lymphomas-at-ESMO-2018-Congress/default.aspx

https://lymphomanewstoday.com/2018/11/05/mk-1454-keytruda-combo-shows-promise-interim-phase-1-data-shows/

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/anie.201707816%4010.1002/%28ISSN%291521-3773.merck_350

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03010176

The hunting seasons are upon us and I am sure that this will cause some problems with that.  I was supposed to go muzzle loader hunting next week but that will have to be postponed.  Easton is hunting ducks this weekend for the youth hunt and then has a couple of deer tags as well.  This is a fun time of year.  I already have 1 pheasant hunting trip planned for the first week in October, hopefully this doesn't screw that one up as well.