{"id":37032,"date":"2018-05-02T16:51:52","date_gmt":"2018-05-02T20:51:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/?p=37032"},"modified":"2022-12-14T11:33:41","modified_gmt":"2022-12-14T16:33:41","slug":"economics-professor-cancer-free-after-immunotherapy-trial-for-skin-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/healthy-tomorrows\/economics-professor-cancer-free-after-immunotherapy-trial-for-skin-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Economics professor cancer-free after immunotherapy trial for skin cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Economics professor Dr. David Gray took part in a clinical trial to see whether an immunotherapy drug could keep his high-risk skin cancer from coming back. Four years later, he\u2019s still cancer-free.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Dr. David Gray’s\u00a0cancer was hiding in plain sight.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a blemish on my cheek that just wouldn\u2019t heal,\u201d said the University of Ottawa economics professor and father of two. \u201cMy dermatologist didn\u2019t like it, so he had it tested.\u201d<\/p>\n

When his dermatologist removed the pea-sized tumour from Dr. Gray\u2019s face, further tests revealed that it was Stage 3c melanoma. He was at high risk of the cancer spreading to other parts of his body.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.

\u201cHe\u2019s remained cancer-free, and the hope is that he is cured from the disease.\u201d -Dr. Xinni Song<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cDuring the initial visit, the surgeon told me that the five-year survival was below 40 percent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Faced with those odds, he decided to join a clinical trial that compared an immunotherapy drug called ipilimumab to interferon, the currently publicly-funded treatment used to keep melanoma from returning.<\/p>\n

Ipilimumab helps the immune system attack cancer cells anywhere in the body. However, it can have serious side effects. After Dr. Gray\u2019s fourth treatment, his hormonal (endocrine) system went into crisis, and he was hospitalized for four days. He continues to take hormone replacement medication today<\/p>\n

These kinds of side effects have motivated researchers to look for more effective and safer options, said Dr. Xinni Song, his oncologist at The Ottawa Hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhysicians treating melanoma are looking for something better to keep the cancer from coming back,\u201d said Dr. Song, who is also an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa. \u201cOur patients are very keen to take part in clinical trials, which can not only help them, but future patients as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Four years after taking part in the trial, Dr. Gray is still cancer-free. The results of the trial are still to be published.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t attribute my survival 100 percent to the treatment. But my wife certainly does,\u201d said Dr. Gray.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it was very meaningful that he can enjoy his life with his family and go back to work and continue to teach,\u201d said Dr. Song. \u201cHe\u2019s remained cancer-free, and the hope is that he is cured from the disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

To spot melanoma early, Dr. Song recommended that you tell your doctor if you notice any changes in your skin, such as new spots or marks that grow or change in colour.<\/p>\n

The Ottawa Hospital is a major centre for cancer immunotherapy clinical trials. Researchers at the hospital are also developing new kinds of immunotherapy, such as cancer-fighting viruses and genetically-engineered immune cells. The Ottawa Hospital is raising\u00a0funds for cancer research<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. David Gray\u2019s cancer was hiding in plain sight. When a pea-sized tumour on his cheek turned out to be Stage 3c melanoma, with a high risk of spreading, he decided to join a clinical trial that compared two immunotherapy drugs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":37033,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[13,281,425],"class_list":["post-37032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-tomorrows","tag-cancer","tag-clinical-trials","tag-immunology"],"acf":[],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}