If Phil Collins, Genesis band member and genius solo songwriter, had also been an oncologist, he might have renamed his hit song from the 1980s, Sussudio, Sussudio-progression, which, mouthful though it is, makes a lot more sense. (Perhaps Sussudio, an otherwise nonsense word, is code for the number of times Phil’s three ex-wives have gone to court and “sus-sue-dioed” him for exorbitant alimony and child support payments. Poor Phil — literally since he has reportedly paid out over 65 million dollars to his exes. Or poorer Phil if we’re being extra literal. Not to be “rude-io,” but our advice to Phil if he wants to restore his former prosperity is two-fold: 1) get back to the stu-stu-studio and record more hit songs, since he clearly excels at that 2) ask daughter and star of “Emily in Paris,” Lily Collins, to appear in his next music vid-vid-video 🤣).
According to Collins Dictionary, no relation to Phil or his actress daughter, Lily, (as far as we know), the prefix “pseudo” means “false” and progression means “development from one state to another.. In oncology, pseudoprogression is a term that refers to temporary tumor enlargement due to immune infiltration. It is both a blessing and a curse — a blessing since immune infiltration from pseudoprogression usually portends a favorable prognosis; a curse since clinicians may, and often do, mistake pseudoprogression for true progression, which otherwise portends a poor prognosis and can lead to premature discontinuation from active therapy as a result. From this perspective, perhaps it is more accurate to describe pseudoprogression as a blessing disguised as a curse.
Lead EpicentRx therapies, RRx-001 (nibrozetone) and AdAPT-001 are both associated with pseudoprogressive tumor changes, which means that a high index of suspicion is warranted on the KEVLARx and BETAPRIME clinical trials, respectively, so that clinicians do not mistakenly classify pseudoprogression as true progression and prematurely abort treatment to the detriment of patients.
The main clinical difference between progression and pseudoprogression is that the latter is associated with symptomatic improvement, which makes it a word that cancer patients, especially RRx-001- and AdAPT-treated patients, should internalize and understand.
Or, to paraphrase Phil Collins, “Sussudio-progression just say the word.”
To that we would add, “if you can.”