Gas Embolotherapy Combined with Ultrasound May Block Cancer Tumor’s Blood Supply

New Cancer Treatments Are Being Studied Worldwide
New Cancer Treatments Are Being Studied Worldwide

Scientists are constantly searching for methods of cancer treatment that will kill tumor cells without affecting healthy tissue, thereby avoiding common side effects. A research team recently found that bubbles may be a surprising vehicle for starving tumors and delivering anti-cancer drugs.

“Starving” Cancer Cells

Tumor cells rely on a steady blood supply to furnish oxygen and nutrients required to multiply and spread to other parts of the body. In its absence, tumors use a process called angiogenesis to create new blood vessels.

Scientists had previously created a class of drugs known as angiogenesis inhibitors, which effectively halt blood vessel development. Embolization is an alternate method that incorporates drugs or nano-sized beads to block blood vessels.

A Non-Surgical Option to Defeat Cancer?

Gas embolization is a variation in which bubbles are used to create a blockage. Prof. Yi Feng and a team of scientists at Xi’an Jiaotong University in China conducted a study using blood vessel-rich intestinal tissue from rats.

In the first step, droplets of dodecafluoropentane, a fluorocarbon often used for conversion to gas microbubbles, were injected into the blood vessels. An ultrasound was then applied in a technique known as acoustic droplet vaporization (ADV).

As a result, the droplets formed bubbles that congregated in an area, with some of them uniting to create larger bubbles, effectively blocking the blood vessels. The team is hopeful that gas embolotherapy may eventually be used as a “double punch” attack on cancer.

Immunotherapy: Individually Created Cancer Treatment

For years, Issels® has helped patients with our non-toxic cancer treatment programs that boost the body’s own immune system. Visit our website for more information.

Personalized Immunotherapy: The Future for Cancer Treatment One Story

Immunotherapy is Changing Cancer Treatment Again in Exciting New Ways
Immunotherapy is Changing Cancer Treatment Again in Exciting New Ways

At Issels®, we recognize that successful cancer treatment is designed for a patient’s individual needs. This immunotherapy approach recently saved the life of one woman whose recurring breast cancer was spreading to other parts of her body.

“Two to Three Months to Live”

In 2003, Judy Perkins of Port St. Lucie, Florida underwent a mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Just over two years ago the cancer returned, resulting in tennis-ball-sized tumors throughout her torso, including the lymph nodes.

This time around, Perkins was treated by Dr. Steven Rosenberg and his team at the National Cancer Institute. Rosenberg’s career has been devoted to the field of immuno-oncology, which involves finding ways to help the body’s own immune system attack and destroy cancer cells.

Weaponizing the Immune System

Rosenberg and his team began by obtaining samples of the tumors to sequence DNA and analyze tumor-fighting immune cells called lymphocytes. The scientists were then able to identify the specific gene mutations that allowed cancer cells to multiply and spread.

After determining which lymphocytes were most effective against the mutations, the team grew those cells in the lab and re-introduced them to Perkins’ system. In addition to doses of interleukin 2 and an immunotherapy drug approved by the FDA in 2017, Perkins received one last round of chemotherapy.

All tumors disappeared, and Perkins remains cancer-free today. Rosenberg is optimistic that this success will propel immunotherapy research to more breakthroughs.

Personalized, Integrative Cancer Treatment at Issels®

Many patients with advanced and therapy-resistant cancers have achieved long-term remission through our cancer treatment programs. Contact us to learn more.

When Cancer is Whispering, Be Persistent and Get Help with Early Treatment

Worried You May Have Cancer - Get Help!
Worried You May Have Cancer – Get Help!

Do you find yourself ignoring minor but nagging health symptoms, assuming they’re not worth a trip to the doctor’s office? Seeking help during this “whisper stage” can be the key to timely and effective cancer treatment.

When Cancer Acts Like Something Else

When actress Fran Drescher first heard her body’s “whispers,” she didn’t fit the usual profile of uterine cancer patients, so her doctor didn’t even consider an endometrial biopsy. Instead, Drescher was diagnosed with a perimenopausal condition and put on four separate hormone replacement therapies, which nearly proved fatal.

Fortunately, Drescher trusted what her body was telling her. She continued to seek help, and after two years and eight doctors, she finally received the correct diagnosis of uterine cancer.

Putting Good Health First

Drescher’s experience prompted her to form Cancer Schmancer, a charitable organization that educates people about taking a proactive approach toward prevention and early detection of cancer.

Here are some of Drescher’s top tips for taking charge of your health.

– Don’t cut corners on health care. Investing in your health is the best financial decision you’ll ever make.

– Listen to your body when it begins “whispering.’ Even if it turns out to be nothing, your peace of mind is worth a doctor appointment.

– Educate yourself. The digital revolution has put unprecedented amounts of information at your fingertips.

– Be assertive. If your symptoms don’t improve, or you feel you’re not being taken seriously, don’t be afraid to seek second and third opinions.

Cancer Treatment Designed Just for You

At Issels®, our comprehensive immunotherapy programs are created with each patient’s specific needs in mind. Contact us for more information.

Autoimmune Disease May Hold a Key for More Effective Immunotherapy Treatments

Research is Under Way to Cross Out Cancer
Research is Under Way to Cross Out Cancer

Thanks to their ability to avoid detection by the immune system, cancer cells are able to rapidly reproduce and spread. In a major breakthrough, scientists have discovered that a gene associated with hair loss could provide valuable clues to improve immunotherapy for cancer.

Autoimmune Disease: The Other Side of the Coin

Ironically, a research team at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) turned to the autoimmune disease alopecia areata as the topic of their recent study, published last June in Cell Systems. While cancer is marked by failure of the immune system, alopecia represents the opposite situation, an immune system in overdrive.

Alopecia results in immune cells attacking and destroying healthy hair cells. During previous research, the CUIMC team isolated a gene called IKZF1 that causes overproduction of T cells in the immune system.

“Flipping the Switch” on the Immune System

In the latest study, the scientists demonstrated that IKZF1 is turned off in many cancer cells. The team then set out to test their theory that activating IKZF1 would trigger T cells to begin attacking tumors.

The study broke down into two parts:

– When a mouse model of melanoma was engineered to express IKZF1, the corresponding tumors revealed increased levels of immune cells.

– Analysis of data from a previous study of melanoma patients showed higher recurrence in those with disabled IKZF1.

Immunotherapy for Cancer: A Personalized Treatment

Immunotherapy for cancer programs at Issels® are focused on boosting your body’s own immune system, so they’re not accompanied by the side effects that frequently accompany conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation.

Visit our website for more information.

New Understanding on How Cancer Cells Provide for Tumor Growth and Metastasis

New Understanding on How Cancer Cells Provide for Tumor Growth and Metastasis
New Understanding on How Cancer Cells Provide for Tumor Growth and Metastasis

At Issels®, our immunotherapy for cancer treatments have helped patients with metastatic tumors achieve long-term remission. A recent discovery by scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison holds promise for developing a means to prevent the spread of cancer.

Exosomes: The Allies of Cancer Cells

Immunotherapy is aimed at helping the body’s immune system circumvent ways in which cancer cells avoid detection. One such method involves exosomes, which are protein-packed bags of fluid released by cancer cells.

Exosomes are powerful enough to affect the environment of cancer cells and divert the immune system, allowing cancer to spread to other areas in a process known as metastasis. The team at UW-Madison identified a protein called Munc13-4 that controls the release of exosomes.

Stopping the Spread of Cancer

According to the study, published in Journal of Cell Biology, Munc13-4 activates once it binds with calcium, which is frequently found at elevated levels in tumor cells. While calcium triggers exosome secretion in breast cancer, once the scientists removed Munc13-4. the secretion was halted.

The exosomes in the breast cancer cells contained an enzyme called MT1-MMP which breaks down the extracellular matrix, creating an environment that encourages the spread of cancer. Prof. Thomas F. J. Martin, senior author of the study, explained that by targeting Munc13-4, immunotherapy for cancer treatments could potentially prevent metastasis.

How Issels® Fights Advanced and Therapy-Resistant Tumors

Immunotherapy for cancer has been in the spotlight recently, but our successful use of these personally developed programs dates back to the work of our founder, Dr. Josef M. Issels. Contact us to learn more about cancer vaccines and other integrated treatments.

Saliva Test May Identify Prostate Cancer High Risk Populations

Saliva Test May Identify Prostate Cancer High Risk Populations
Saliva Test May Identify Prostate Cancer High Risk Populations

As immunotherapy for cancer moves closer to becoming a viable treatment for prostate cancer, scientists continue to seek methods of early detection. Increased use of saliva-based DNA tests prompted a research team to investigate a similar test that identifies men at high risk to develop the disease.

DNA Profiling through Saliva

Now that scientists can extract DNA from white cells called leukocytes, a simple saliva test can provide information about your genetic makeup. This method has given rise to a booming business in commercially available tests that reveal information about people’s genealogical backgrounds.

This past June, a research team at the Institute of Cancer Research in London began a clinical trial of a similar test to determine risk of developing prostate cancer. The disease is currently the most frequently diagnosed form of cancer affecting European men.

When Prostate Cancer Is in the Genes

The trial comes on the heels of a study that identified 63 new genetic variations that increase the risk of prostate cancer. In addition to these variations, the saliva test includes more than 100 others already known to scientists.

On this side of the ocean, another clinical trial of the saliva test is underway at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. According to Dr. Heather Cheng, director of the Alliance’s Prostate Cancer Genetics Clinic, a saliva test could be used in conjunction with existing PSA blood testing to obtain more accurate information.

Immunotherapy for Cancer: Personalized Solutions

Every patient’s case is unique. Genetic testing is one of the tools we use to create individual immunotherapy for cancer programs that focus on specific needs. Contact us for more information.