Lisa Brown

Arizona - 48 y/o

Primary Tumor Location: Lung (Right Middle Lobe)

Reoccurrence(s): Lung, Pancreas, Pericardium, Diaphragm

Treatment: Surgery (Lobectomy, Whipple Procedure), AIM Chemotherapy, Radiation, Targeted Therapy (Votrient), Clinical Trial (IMC-F106 PRAME x CD3 ImmTac)

Treatment Center: The Angeles Clinic, MD Anderson, Stanford Medicine Oncology

Status: In Treatment

Diagnosed in August 2021 after experiencing a small cough she attributed to “summer allergies.” Her family doctor listened to her lungs and said, “I don’t hear anything.” But Lisa had what she refers to as a “divine intuition” and requested an X-ray. The X-ray spotted a mass, and she was rushed to a CT scan, which revealed an 8 cm mass in the right middle lobe of her lung. A biopsy confirmed it to be Synovial Sarcoma.

In September 2021, the right middle lung lobe was resected, and a 10 cm mass was removed with clean margins. From December 2021 through March 2022, Lisa completed AIM chemotherapy (four rounds every three weeks).

In September 2022, four small wedge resections were performed on the right upper and lower lung lobes, along with a lesion removed from the pericardium and diaphragm. From November 2022 through 2023, she started Votrient but had to stop due to toxic liver levels.

In January 2023, a CT scan showed three spots on the pancreas, later confirmed via biopsy to be Synovial Sarcoma. Cancer hospitals were conflicted on what to do:

  • Mayo Clinic Phoenix said pancreas surgery would be a “morbid surgery” and would not operate.

  • MD Anderson Houston’s oncology panel said it was “inoperable” and recommended more chemo before placing her on hospice when it returned.

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NYC said it was “inoperable.”

  • Stanford Medicine Oncology also declared it “inoperable.”

Lisa sought multiple opinions before finding Dr. George Poultsides via PubMed, who had performed the Whipple Procedure on another Synovial Sarcoma patient. He and his team completed the Whipple procedure on Lisa’s pancreas and removed two small lesions from the pericardium, confirmed to be Synovial Sarcoma.

In April 2023, a follow-up CT scan showed four small spots in her right upper and lower lobes, one of which was over 1 cm, qualifying her for the IMC-F106 PRAME x CD3 ImmTac clinical trial. Lisa started the trial at The Angeles Clinic under Dr. Omid Hamid, which includes weekly infusions and CT scans every nine weeks.

Lisa continues to hike, walk over five miles, and kayak every chance she gets, living a full life. She attributes this to her determination and faith. Lisa strongly encourages others to always seek second, third, and fourth opinions!