Matthew Schreindorfer, the Laval man who crowdfunded his way to an experimental cancer treatment in New York after after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in August 2014 has suffered another setback.
Schreindorfer, who was taking part in his second CAR-T cancer treatment at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Maryland, took to Facebook Sunday announcing that the latest round of immunotherapy didn’t have the desired results.
“My last bone marrow biopsy showed that I have approximately 97 per cent leukemia in my bone marrow,” Schreindorfer wrote on the Help Save Matthew Facebook page. “We were hopeful for a full remission.”
READ MORE: Matthew Schreindorfer heads back to Maryland after cancer diagnosis
The results mean it’s back to square one for Schreindorfer, as his medical team evaluates what comes next.
“And so here I am, back at the starting line, looking once again at different options with the doctors here who have been (there are no words really) simply the most helpful and dedicated team of individuals with gigantic hearts who probably know the meaning of never ever giving up more than I do.”
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Schreindorfer shared the news with unflinching optimism.
“Although the news seems pretty bad, there’s an upside so let’s throw something into the mix really quick that should lift our spirits up a bit.”
He’s referring to the results of a genetic test which shows he has a rare genetic mutation.
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According to Schreindorfer, the mutation could explain why standard therapies have been unsuccessful, and why he keeps relapsing after being in remission.
The mutation, as he explains it, “causes the cells to always be ‘on’ and constantly keep producing leukemia cells.”
The discovery could help doctors come up with more targeted treatments for patients who test positive for the gene.
“With this new recent gene identification, the doctors will use a drug that should be able to halt or turn off the mechanism that causes the constant replications of malignant cells,” Schreindorfer wrote.
After his first successful immunotherapy treatment in New York, Schreindorfer and his wife Katia Luciani worked tirelessly to bring the cancer treatment to Montreal.
READ MORE: Immunotherapy: cancer treatment that helped Matthew Schreindorfer comes to Montreal
Now Schreindorfer is hoping to raise awareness about the genetic mutation in leukemia patients.
“They have decided to start testing all patients here at the NIH in order to give them more targeted therapies initially, which I think is great,” he said. “Hopefully this will bring more awareness and things will change in the future in Canada (and everywhere!).”
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