Category Archives: Cancer Research

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Immunotherapy

The Presence of a Molecular Marker May Predict Breast Cancer for Early Treatment

The Molecular Mark

Breast cancer is still the leading cause of death for women who suffer from cancer, but early detection can improve the chances of successful treatment. In 2016 a group of researchers identified a molecular marker that can indicate a woman’s risk for developing the disease.

Identifying a Common Thread

The study was conducted by a joint team from Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). Researchers reviewed biopsies from 302 women who had been diagnosed with benign breast disease. Some of the biopsies dated back to 40 years ago.

Out of this group, 69 women later developed cancer and 233 did not. It was discovered that women with a higher percentage of a particular marker were more likely to develop cancer.

Ki67 is a molecular marker found in the lining of the mammary ducts and milk-producing lobules that identifies proliferating cells. These tissues are the site where most breast cancers develop.

The Present and Future of Ki67 Testing

While Ki67 testing is already being used to determine courses of treatment, this discovery will allow doctors to test precancerous tissue for use as a predictive tool. The method could help avoid some of the drawbacks of mammograms, which are currently the best option for early detection.

Immunotherapy for Cancer: A Personalized Method of Treatment

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Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Immunotherapy

Strategic T Cells Use May Be the Key to Effective Cancer Treatment

Advanced T Cells

T cells are the warriors of your immune system, but the ongoing battle against cancer can sap them of their disease-fighting powers. New research has discovered crucial information about these “exhausted” cells that can lead to more powerful immunotherapy for cancer.

The fundamental difference between active and exhausted T cells lies in their gene patterns. One example is PD-1, a protein expressed by exhausted T cells that prevents them from attacking both healthy and diseased cells. Checkpoint inhibitors can block PD-1, but their use is productive in only 25 percent of cases.

Can “Exhausted” T Cells Be Revived?

According to Nicholas Haining of Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s, senior author of the report posted in the journal Science, the goal of the study was to determine whether exhausted T cells are simply run-down versions of functional T cells or a separate type entirely. Regulatory regions of T cell genomes were mapped using chronically infected mice as subjects.

Results showed that the two types of cells are controlled by completely different wiring. In a separate study, use of checkpoint inhibitors gave the exhausted T cells a temporary boost, but did nothing to convert them to an active state.

The researchers hope this information will help to improve CAR T-cell therapy, in which T cells are removed from a patient and retrofitted to attack tumor cells. Complete mapping of regulatory regions will provide more precise targets for treatment.

Immunotherapy for Cancer Focuses on Tumors and Their Causes

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Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

Brain Tumor’s Greed for Cholesterol May Create a Treatment Opportunity

A Unique Perspective
Fight Brain Cancer With Cholesterol

When it comes to fitness and nutrition, cholesterol has become a bad word. But a team of researchers has discovered that the substance may turn out to be a surprising hero in the fight against cancer.

Brain Cancer Treatment Hits a Dead End

Details of the study, conducted jointly by Ludwig Cancer Research San Diego and Scripps, were published last fall in Cancer Cell. The project involved glioblastoma (GBM), an aggressive and incurable form of brain cancer.

The scientific community had reached an impasse in the treatment of GBM. Although the cancer cells had been extensively studied, targeted therapies based on these analyses proved ineffective and served only to increase the tumor’s drug resistance.

Hope Comes from an Unlikely Source

The research team found clues in the way brain cells process cholesterol. The brain actually manufactures its own cholesterol, and when the cells have enough a receptor is activated that starts releasing the excess.

In contrast, GBM cells crave large amounts of cholesterol but do not manufacture it. Their shut-off receptor remains inactive, allowing them to “steal” cholesterol from normal cells and use it to grow.

Researchers implanted GBM tumors from humans into mice and treated them with a drug that triggers the shut-off receptor. As a result, many of the cancer cells were destroyed, causing significant shrinkage in the tumors and extending the lives of the affected mice.

Immunotherapy for Cancer: Treatment for All Forms of Tumors

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Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Immunotherapy for Cancer

Study Finds that Older Lung Cancer Patients May Still Benefit from Surgery

Lung Cancer
Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the second most common form of cancer in both men and women, and nearly all the patients are over the age of 45. Despite the fact that the average age of diagnosis is 70, cancer surgery is proving to be a viable treatment option that can extend the lives of these patients.

Is Surgery Appropriate for Older Patients?

The general opinion, even among healthcare professionals, is that surgery is too hard on the aging bodies of older patients to be considered as a solution for lung cancer. Treatment then focuses on controlling the symptoms rather than attempting curative solutions.

Evaluating Surgical Treatment for Lung Cancer

In October 2016 the Journal of Clinical Oncology published a study headed up by Dr. Prasad Adusumilli, a thoracic surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Participants included more than 2,000 patients diagnosed with Stage 1 non-small cell lung cancer. Approximately 70 percent of the subjects were 65 or older.

After these patients had surgery to remove the tumors, the group experienced a remarkable track record of success. The first year follow-up showed that patient deaths to that point were most often due to causes other than lung cancer. Even more encouraging news was that after five years nearly 90 percent of the patients were alive and cancer-free.

Instead of Surgery Consider Immunotherapy for Cancer

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

Big Pharma’s Specialized T Cell Treatment May Be Too Toxic for Some Patients

Using the Body to Fight Cancer
T Cell Engineering

CAR-T is a remarkable new immunotherapy for cancer treatment that has been described as “heroic medicine” for patients who have exhausted all other resources. As Big Pharma begins taking steps toward bringing CAR-T to the market, certain toxic side effects have given some investors pause.

Pros and Cons of CAR-T

Your immune system includes T cells, which are a subtype of white blood cells. CAR-T involves harvesting a patient’s T cells, engineering them to recognize cancer then returning them to the patient’s system where they are now better equipped to fight cancer cells.

So far CAR-T has had particular success against leukemia and lymphoma, with one study resulting in leukemia completely disappearing from 90 percent of the participants. The bad news is that some test subjects have developed serious side effects such as cytokine release syndrome, which can result in organ failure.

The Search for a Safer Treatment

While experts believe the dramatically positive results greatly outweigh the potentially negative ones, researchers are at work exploring ways to make CAR-T safer for cancer patients. One promising approach is standardization of T cell doses by maintaining specific proportions.

Some researchers use a so-called “suicide switch,” which is a drug that causes T cells to self-destruct in the presence of high toxicity levels. Doses of the activation drug can be adjusted so it reduces toxic effects but leaves some T cells intact.

The Non-Toxic Alternative: State-of-the-Art Immunotherapy for Cancer at Issels®

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Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Living with Cancer

Cancer May Be Carried in Your DNA – Should Testing Be Offered?

Cancer Can Be Caused at The DNA Level

Lifestyle choices, such as smoking and poor diet, can affect your chances of developing cancer, but some people carry a high risk for the disease

in their DNA. The medical community is currently debating whether widespread genetic testing will do more harm than good.

Would Lower-Cost Tests Mean Greater Accessibility?

BRCA-related cancers occur when the genes that produce tumor-preventing proteins mutate to the point where they lose that ability. These genetic changes result in higher risk of breast, prostate, ovarian and pancreatic cancers as well as melanoma.

Testing can normally run into thousands of dollars, making it generally available only via insurance coverage to individuals with a strong family history of cancer. But biotech companies have come up with viable tests that cost less than $500.

When Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing

Experts such as Mary-Claire King, the award-winning geneticist who originally identified the BRCA1 gene, think that the new testing methods should be considered routine like Pap smears and mammograms. Others are not convinced.

Why is caution needed with the new genetic testing?

• Genetics is not a cut-and-dried specialty, and not all variations can be interpreted correctly.

• Some companies sell these tests directly to consumers without clear information about limitations and risks.

At this point, knowing your family history is still the best indicator of a possible genetic link to cancer.

Genomic Testing and Immunotherapy for Cancer

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