Category Archives: Alternative Cancer Treatment

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, News

Stanford Scientists Research New Ways to Target Cancer

New Approaches to Cancer Bring New Perspectives to Potentially Solving this Disease.
New Approaches to Cancer Bring New Perspectives to Potentially Solving this Disease.

Cancer treatment has come a long way in the last 20 years. From immunotherapy for cancer to synthesized protein antibodies, cancer patients now have a variety of options to choose from when it comes to treatment in early or late stages.

Stanford Study Shows Promise

One of the major drawbacks of chemotherapy is the range of side effects that come with a dose strong enough to take care of a tumor. Stanford researchers have found a way to bind a synthetic protein to specific molecules in the lining of certain cells, allowing them to easily pass through without needing to be delivered via the blood stream.

Since particularly dense tumors are difficult to treat due to their lack of blood flow, many chemotherapy drugs need to be administered in high doses to get the desired effect.

The Importance of Synthetic Protein Antibodies

Much like a sponge, a tumor might absorb these special protein antibodies just by contact, leading to the saturation of the chemical within the tumor. This can cause the cancer cells to die off and the tumor to shrink, possibly eliminating the cancer causing cells completely.

All of this is done without the harmful effects of large doses of chemotherapy drugs. While these synthetic protein antibodies show promise, they could still be a few years away from the mass market.

It’s good to know that immunotherapy for cancer already exists even for late-stage patients, and new treatments are being developed by researchers to improve life expectancy and quality of life. If you would like to receive more information, get in touch with us today.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Care Tips

American Institute for Cancer Research List Cancer-Fighting Foods

Cancer Fighting Foods
Cancer Fighting Foods

Do you need more motivation to consume a healthy diet? According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), excess body weight is a cause of more than 130,000 new cases of cancer in the United States each year.

Consuming nutritious plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans, provides a double-whammy against cancer. Fewer calories mean no weight gain, while the vitamins and minerals are strong tools against developing cancer.

What’s on Your Grocery List?

Fortunately, there’s a wide variety of delicious foods to choose from. Here are some of the products that rank high on AICR’s list.

  • Dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach and romaine lettuce contain carotenoids that attack free radicals, which are unstable molecules that cause cell and tissue damage.
  • Tomatoes get their red color from an antioxidant called lycopene. They’re also rich in fiber, which protects against colorectal cancer.
  • Coffee has gained a bad reputation with some, but it’s actually full of antioxidants that may become more potent during the roasting process.
  • Kidneys, black beans and other legumes are a good source of fiber and protein. They also contain a resistant starch used by “good” bacteria in the colon to manufacture protective short-chain fatty acids.
  • Blueberries are considered one of the “superfoods” that have some of the highest antioxidant content.

Good Nutrition and Immunotherapy for Cancer: A Powerful Combination

At our Issels® center, diet and other lifestyle factors are taken into consideration when creating our personalized immunotherapy for cancer treatments. Contact us for more information about non-toxic protocols such as cancer vaccines and NK cells.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Immunotherapy, News

National Cancer Institute Advances Research on Cancer Diagnosis

Advances In Fighting Cancer
Advances In Fighting Cancer

Diagnosing cancer goes far beyond simply confirming its existence. The effectiveness of immunotherapy for cancer and other forms of treatment improves greatly with timely and accurate information from high-tech diagnostic tools.

National Cancer Institute Spearheads Diagnostic Research

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) supports development of sophisticated equipment and testing through its Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis. Ongoing programs maintained by the division include:

  • Program for the Assessment of Clinical Cancer Tests (PACCT), which aims to break down barriers that hinder accurate diagnostic testing.
  • Strategic Partnering to Evaluate Cancer Signatures (SPECS), which looks for ways to use data from molecular analyses to improve care and treatment of cancer patients.
  • Cancer Imaging Program (CIP), which focuses on non-invasive imaging techniques to diagnose cancer along with specific subsets.

Why Diagnostic Procedures are Important

In addition to identifying the presence and extent of cancer, diagnostic tools are useful throughout the course of a patient’s treatment. Healthcare teams use them to recognize and classify specific genetic changes, determine the best course of treatment, and monitor patients for recurrence of cancer cells.

Ironically, as the effectiveness of tools and techniques has increased, so has the number of over-diagnosed tumors that are unlikely to have serious consequences. Researchers are also concentrating on ways to more accurately evaluate the data being provided by diagnostics.

Issels® is in the Forefront of Modern Diagnostic and Treatment Techniques

Our Issels® team stays up-to-date on the most advanced diagnostic methods as well as state-of-the-art immunotherapy for cancer treatments. Contact us today to learn how our personally tailored treatment protocols have helped patients with all forms of cancer.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Care Tips, Cancer Research

National Cancer Institute: Environmental Cancer Causing Agents Act at the DNA Level

Cancer Can Be Caused at The DNA Level
Cancer Can Be Caused at The DNA Level

Reducing your risk of cancer involves more than eating a healthy diet that is low in fat and high in nutrients. Exposure to certain environmental factors can set the stage for development of cancer by actually causing damage to your DNA.

Everyday Exposure to Cancer-Causing Elements

As explained by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), cancer occurs when genes mutate in such a way that cell replication and growth is severely altered. While this can occur naturally, specific elements of the environment have been found to inflict this type of damage on DNA.

Here are some of the environmental carcinogens that present the biggest risk of causing cancer. Some are difficult to avoid, but others are more easily controlled.

  • Aflatoxins, which are associated with risk of liver cancer, are produced by mold that’s most often found on crops such as corn and peanuts. Aspergillus is the most common variety of aflatoxin-producing mold.
  • Tobacco smoke is one of the more highly publicized carcinogens. One obvious solution is to quit smoking or never start, but second-hand smoke is harder to avoid.
  • Asbestos releases minute fibers into the air when damaged. Ingesting these fibers can lead to lung cancer or mesothelioma. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration has instituted strict measures governing the use of asbestos, which have greatly reduced its risk.

NCI emphasizes that exposure to these elements doesn’t guarantee cancer. Factors such as length of exposure and individual genetic makeup also play a part.

Issels® and Non-Toxic Immunotherapy for Cancer

At Issels®, we understand that lifestyle and environment make each patient’s case unique. Contact us to learn more about our individually tailored immunotherapy for cancer.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Cancer Vaccine, Immunotherapy, Immunotherapy for Cancer

Dendritic Cell Therapy Has Been Funded by the American Cancer Society

Advances in Cancer Therapies
Advances in Cancer Therapy

As part of the American Cancer Society’s initiative to eliminate cancer, they have funded research by some of the most brilliant minds in the medical field. Among the 46 ACS-funded scientists who have gone on to win the Nobel Prize is a doctor who did groundbreaking work involving dendritic cell therapy.

Top Scientists Go to Bat for ACS

Immunotherapy for cancer received a major boost when Dr. Ralph M. Steinman of Rockefeller University discovered the dendritic cell, which plays a vital role in the function of the immune system. Dendritic cells trigger responses in T cells, allowing them to more effectively target invading cancer cells.

Dr. Bruce A. Beutler, professor of genetics and immunology at Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, is another Nobel laureate who received a grant from ACS. Along with his colleague Jules Hoffman, head of a laboratory in Strasburg, France, Dr. Beutler conducted extensive research concerning innate immunity, which is the body’s first line of defense against cancer cells and other invaders.

ACS Grants Lead to Improved Cancer Treatments

Dr. Stein’s work led to the development of Provenge, a prostate cancer vaccine that has become a valuable part of immunotherapy for cancer. The findings of Dr. Beutler could ultimately result in more effective treatments for cancer as well as rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic inflammatory diseases.

Issels® Offers State-of-the-Art Immunotherapy for Cancer

Cancer vaccines are just one of the advanced non-toxic therapies used at our Issels® center. Contact us to learn more about how our personalized immunotherapy protocols have helped patients with all forms of cancer, including leukemia, melanoma and breast cancer.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Immunotherapy, Uncategorized

Non-Specific Cancer Immunotherapy Stimulates the Immune System

New Immunotherapy Drugs Can Help Fight Bladder Cancer
Non Targeted Immunotherapy

Targeted cancer therapies work by directly interacting with molecules that aid the growth and spread of cancer cells. Non-specific immunotherapy for cancer acts behind the scenes to bolster the immune system’s ability to fight cancer cells.

Types of Non-Specific Cancer Immunotherapy

Some non-specific therapies are administered on their own, while others are used as adjutants, which means they are used to supplement a main treatment such as a cancer vaccine. A few therapies are used in both ways, depending on the form of cancer being treated.

  • Cytokines are chemicals produced by certain immune cells that play an important role in the growth and activity of other immune cells. They are divided into interleukins, which speed up growth and division of immune cells, and interferons, which aid the body in resisting cancer as well as viral infections.
  • Immune checkpoint inhibitors help the immune system identify cancer cells that use certain proteins to evade detection.
  • Immunomodulating drugs (IMiDs) such as thalidomide, lenalidomide and pomalidomide appear to give a general boost to the immune system, although at present it’s not known exactly how they work.
  • Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is a germ that triggers the immune system by infecting tissue, although it doesn’t present a threat of serious disease. BCG is one of the earliest forms of immunotherapy for cancer.

Issels® Uses Both Targeted and Non-Specific Immunotherapy

As a leader in the field of immunotherapy for cancer, Issels® uses advanced methods such as vaccines and LAK cells in our individually tailored treatment protocols. Contact us to learn more about how immunotherapy may be the answer for you.