If you have just been diagnosed, the plan your oncologist proposes comes first. Cancer therapy with Argeon is designed to run alongside that plan, and it can also follow it or be used on its own in certain situations. This article explains where it fits and what you can do in the coming weeks.
The first weeks after a diagnosis
Right after a diagnosis, most people feel that everything has to be decided at once. It does not. Your oncologist will usually first complete the tests that describe your tumour, then propose a treatment plan. That plan may include surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy or radiation, alone or in combination.
Your task in this period is to understand the plan. Ask what each step is meant to achieve, how long it takes and what side effects to expect. Ask for copies of your reports and scans. You will need them for any second opinion, and you will need them if you decide to ask us about Argeon.
How this cancer therapy works
Many tumours cannot make the arginine they need to grow and survive. Arginine is an amino acid, a small building block of protein. Your tumour takes it from your blood. Healthy cells make their own arginine through a process called the urea cycle, so they do not depend on the supply in the blood.
Argeon is an enzyme that removes arginine from the blood. The tumour is starved of something it cannot replace, while healthy cells carry on. Many cancers have switched off two urea-cycle enzymes called ASS1 and OTC, and Argeon acts on tumours that lack either of them. Whether your own tumour is likely to respond is assessed individually when you enquire. You can read the full mechanism on our page how it works.
Argeon is a human-type arginase attached to albumin, a protein that occurs naturally in blood. Earlier enzymes came from bacteria, and the body tends to form antibodies against them within a few weeks, which reduces their effect. Argeon is built for months of treatment, and in most cases one injection lasts 14 days.
Where Argeon fits next to your oncologist's treatment
Argeon is meant to be used together with standard therapy. A tumour cell that is short of arginine is more vulnerable to chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy and radiation, so combining them makes sense. There are two other situations.
- It can follow standard therapy once that therapy is completed.
- It can be used on its own where standard options are exhausted or you have declined them.
In every case, your oncologist decides on combinations and stays in charge of your care. We do not ask you to stop, delay or refuse any treatment your oncologist recommends. If you are considering Argeon on its own, that decision is made together with your oncologist.
Treatment takes place at licensed partner clinics in Georgia, Dubai and Hong Kong. In countries where the law allows a physician to treat an individual patient with a medicine that is not yet licensed, we ship Argeon to your own oncologist and guide them through the protocol and monitoring. Argeon is used as physician-led individual treatment. It is not an approved medicine.
What the evidence shows
The principle of starving tumours of arginine has been studied for years with an earlier enzyme, ADI-PEG 20. In the ATOMIC-Meso trial, published in JAMA Oncology in 2024, 249 patients with a type of pleural mesothelioma received chemotherapy with or without that enzyme. Median survival was 9.3 months with it and 7.7 months without. After three years, about 12 % were alive compared with about 3 %.
Earlier phase II trials showed disease control in liver cancer, melanoma and acute myeloid leukaemia. A phase III trial in second-line liver cancer, with 635 patients, showed no survival benefit overall. Those patients had not been selected by tumour markers, and the ones whose arginine stayed low over time did better. This is one reason we measure arginine at every visit.
For Argeon itself, more than 100 patients have been treated. Five cases are documented in full with laboratory values. Tumour markers fell in four of them, and in one they returned to the normal range within 37 days. No adverse events were reported. Argeon has not yet been tested in controlled studies, so we cannot tell you what result to expect. Our evidence page lists the studies in detail.
What treatment involves
The standard protocol is twelve injections, one every 14 days, over 24 weeks. Reviews with imaging take place at weeks 8, 16 and 24. Some cancers need injections every 7 days, for example advanced or fast-growing ones. If your tumour does not respond, treatment ends at the next review.
The most common side effect is tiredness in the first weeks. Some people have a reaction at the injection site, and occasionally nausea or a rash. The enzyme does not cause hair loss. We check your liver and kidney values at every visit, and every result goes to you and your oncologist.
We do not treat people who are pregnant or breastfeeding, who have a urea-cycle disorder, severe liver, kidney or heart failure, or an uncontrolled infection.
The full 24-week course costs USD 150,000 to 250,000, depending on tumour type and the number of injections. You receive a binding written quote before you give consent. It includes the enzyme, visits, administration and the scheduled laboratory and imaging monitoring. Travel, accommodation and combined standard therapies are separate, and insurers do not cover the enzyme. We discuss payment terms with you personally.
Your first steps
- Follow your oncologist's plan and ask for copies of your records, including pathology reports and scans.
- Take the three-minute eligibility check, or write to us at contact@argea.health.
- Expect a written answer within five working days.
- Share our answer with your oncologist so that any combination is planned together.
From enquiry to first injection usually takes four to six weeks. It can be faster when your records are complete and the situation is urgent. Families will find more practical information on our page for patients and families.
If you would like to know whether this cancer therapy could suit your situation, the eligibility check takes about three minutes and commits you to nothing.