Monthly Archives: October 2016

Cancer Research, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy, Immunotherapy for Cancer

New Smart Blood Test Allows Doctors to Tailor Treatment

New Smart Blood Test Allows Doctors to Tailor Treatment
New Smart Blood Test Allows Doctors to Tailor Treatment

One of the challenges doctors face in treating cancer is the difficulty of determining the most effective treatment protocols for each patient. Researchers are optimistic that liquid biopsies, or “smart blood tests,” will help match patients with appropriate therapies.

Using DNA Tracking for Individualized Treatment

At our Issels® center, immunotherapy for cancer is tailored to a patient’s specific case, including location of the tumor and its microenvironment. Liquid biopsies track cancer DNA, enabling doctors to customize a patient’s treatment and monitor progress.

Blood tests are minimally invasive, so patients could undergo the process frequently with no ill effects. Doctors can then track changes more accurately over time and determine whether treatment should be changed or modified.

Liquid Blood Tests Undergo Groundbreaking Trial

This fall, scientists from the Institute of Cancer Research in London will launch the plasmaMATCH trial with 1,000 breast cancer patients. Breast cancer makes a good test subject due to its propensity to mutate as a defense against treatment.

If the trial results are encouraging, experts hope that liquid biopsies will become a standard element of cancer care within the next two years. According to Professor Johann de Bono of the Institute of Cancer Research, smart blood tests could lead to major changes in cancer screening and risk assessment with the general public.

Personally Tailored Immunotherapy for Cancer at Issels®

Our non-toxic immunotherapy protocols are based on a patient’s particular tumor and microenvironment, as well as personal factors such as lifestyle and genetic predispositions. Contact us for more information, including testimonials from patients with all forms of cancer.

 

Cancer Research, Immunotherapy, Immunotherapy for Cancer

Immunotherapy: A Doctor’s Fundamental Change in Treating Cancer

Using the Body to Fight Cancer
Using the Body to Fight Cancer

Traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation are directed at fighting tumors head-on. Immunotherapy for cancer, which is aimed at making the body’s immune system more effective against tumors, has created a fundamental change in the way doctors approach treatment.

A Long-Held “Medical Dream” Becomes Reality

While the earliest attempts at immunotherapy date back more than 100 years, it presented too much of a puzzle to doctors. As a result, radiation and chemotherapy surpassed immunotherapy as the treatments of choice for cancer.

As modern research with immunotherapy uncovered more effective methods with documented track records, medical and financial floodgates have opened. Charitable organizations, pharmaceutical companies and the federal government are dedicating billions of dollars to fund hundreds of trials involving various treatments on every type of cancer.

Boosting the Body’s Own Immune System

While there is still much to learn, researchers are focusing primarily on two types of immunotherapy for cancer:

  • In the first method, a doctor removes some of the patient’s own immune cells and creates genetic alterations enabling them to attack cancer cells, at which point they are added back to the bloodstream.
  • The second method makes use of drugs known as checkpoint inhibitors, which block the mechanism used by cancer cells to evade detection and attack by the immune system.

Issels®: Leading the Way in Immunotherapy for Cancer

Our immunotherapy center has continued the groundbreaking work of our founder, Dr. Josef M. Issels, using state-of-the-art therapies to treat patients with all forms of cancer. Contact us today to learn more about our non-toxic treatments such as cancer vaccines and NK cells.