Mantle cell lymphoma patient benefits from clinical trial despite COVID-19 pandemic

Charles Salazar lives in New Jersey, but considers Houston his “second” home.

四年来，他和他的妻子黛比，已经前往休斯敦经常这样他就可以接受治疗套细胞淋巴瘤，一种罕见的non-Hodgkin lymphoma, at MD Anderson.

“Sure, I could have sought care closer to home, but my wife is a nurse who knows her stuff,” he says. “As soon as I was diagnosed, she started researching where I could get the best treatment.”

Debbie’s diligence led the couple to迈克尔·王，医学博士，全国中套细胞淋巴瘤最重要的专家之一。

“我们做了三个小时的飞行到休斯敦拜访王医生，”查尔斯说。“当我们见到他时，那是它 - 我们知道他是我们的人。他不仅顶在他的领域，但他也为他的病人的积极倡导者。”

等待和手表的方法来套细胞淋巴瘤治疗

Wang determined that Charles had a slow-growing form of mantle cell lymphoma, and placed him on a wait-and-watch protocol.

“Many patients like Mr. Salazar who have few to no symptoms can be monitored over time without any treatment,” explains Wang. “If their cancer begins to advance, we shift from surveillance to active treatment.”

这正是发生在查尔斯。去年，经过四年的持稳，PET扫描显示，他的生长缓慢的套细胞淋巴瘤确实已经开始寸进。

II期临床试验提供了新的套细胞治疗方案

在此同时，王某被推出Windows II clinical trial, which would test a combination of three drugs to treat mantle cell lymphoma.

与会者将采取药物利妥昔单抗，依罗替尼和venetoclax，这将让他们要么避免chemotherapy and its side effectsaltogether, or take a reduced chemotherapy dose after the three-drug treatment.

王在前面已经测试了两种药物的clinical trial称为Windows我，成果斐然 - 参与者的92％，已经进入完全缓解。

He hoped that adding a third drug in the Windows II trial would bump that number up to 100%.

Salazar was on board.

“我说，‘我要注册’。让我们做到这一点。”

治疗将在10个周期给予的陪同下，血液检查和扫描，监控沿途进展。萨拉萨尔使它一路周期前六位的新的冠状病毒（COVID-19）穿上前往休斯敦刹车。

“I was doing great – a PET scan showed the drugs were working,” he says. “And then the pandemic hit.”

Continuing a mantle cell lymphoma clinical trial close to home

Wang presented Charles with three options: withdraw from the clinical trial completely, delay treatments until it was safe to travel again, or continue participating in the trial at anMD安德森癌症网络partner member facility closer to his home. Partner members integrate their clinical cancer care operations with MD Anderson and mirror the way we deliver cancer care here in Houston.

查尔斯选择了后者，并成为在库珀一小时，距离他家半MD安德森癌症中心的卡姆登，新泽西州，一个病人。

“That’s the easiest decision I’ve ever had to make,” he says.

Striving for complete remission from mantle cell lymphoma

他的医生那里，安德烈斯·费伯，医学博士，与王频繁通信。总之，这两个确保他们共享病人住宿的课程。

他接近临床试验结束后，查尔斯将进行骨髓活检，一colonoscopyand an endoscopy to determine whether he’s entered into complete remission – meaning all signs of cancer have disappeared in response to the treatment. The tests are required because cancer cells were found in his bone marrow and gastrointestinal tract when he was first diagnosed.

一旦完全缓解确认，他将进入临床试验的维护阶段，在此期间，他将采取药物来帮助防止癌症的回报。

查尔斯，用于之一，很高兴他照顾的无缝过渡。

“We didn’t miss a beat,” he says.

回到休斯敦

This June, Charles will return to Houston to continue his participation in the clinical trial and receive follow-up care. He looks forward to reuniting with the health care team he views as friends.

“每个人都那么专业，热情欢迎，”他说。“医生，护士，医生助理，技术员，接待员和大家对我的遭遇对待我就像我自己只有耐心等待。他们作为一个团队工作，以确保我得到最高品质的关怀“。

Until they return to Houston, Charles and Debbie will continue enjoying their time in New Jersey with their three rescue dogs.

“We’re real homebodies now,” he says, “like everybody else during this pandemic.”

Request an appointment at MD Anderson onlineor by calling 1-877-632-6789.