Dancing with gorillas . . .

Contact was made today with two gorilla keepers.

I now have an appointment to meet with the Medical Director at LA1 on Monday afternoon to discuss ongoing clinical trials, including that of Trabectadin, the sea squirt derivative. This drug apparently works by interacting with DNA and an unknown protein in liposarcoma cells, preventing the cells from reproducing and growing. Liposarcoma cells are apparently ultrasensitive to minute amounts of the drug, resulting in a potency that is 100 to 500 times stronger to liposarcoma than that of other commonly used chemotherapy agents.

LA1 also has a Phase II/III clinical trial underway of brostallicin, another of the new class of cancer drugs with high selectivity and relatively minor side effects. The type of cancer being studied in the trial? The relatively rare myxoid liposarcoma of course.

The phone “intake” interview at LA1 left a lot to be desired, however. The front office staff is beyond incompetent. It wasn’t a language problem we were dealing with. Just a scarcity of cerebral activity to draw from. This may have been one of the pregnant ladies that I referred to in a previous post. If so, then this nice young woman may not yet know she’s pregnant and is likely wondering why she’s been gaining weight. If she’s even noticed that. Yes, our “conversation” was that frustrating. But the drug isn’t made in the front office, so I suppose that once I buy my ticket and get in through the front gate the gorillas will be worth the price of admission.

I am also now “registered” at LA2 and will be contacted tomorrow by a nurse to discuss specifics. They have a clinical trial underway that is studying the efficacy of orally-administered nelfinavir to combat liposarcoma.

The phone interview at LA2 was much more thorough and professional. However, I was somewhat put off by the very first question: “What is your health insurance company?” The second question was “HMO or PPO?” I replied that I have both options. I was then told that I would have to select PPO because the HMO path would not result in coverage. Once we got the important stuff out of the way, we were off and running on trivial matters such as the details of the cancer. But the interview concluded with one more marketing question: “Are you looking for only a second opinion or would you consider having treatment here?” I interpreted that to mean “Are you here to buy a car from us or just a cup of coffee from our vending machine?” I assured them that if they had the make and model in the color I wanted that we could close the deal. I believe I now have their attention.