Category Archives: Cancer Research

Cancer Care Tips, Cancer Research, Immunotherapy, Immunotherapy for Cancer

Does Treatment Cause Cancer to Spread?

Can Cancer Treatment Causer The Spread of Cancer
Can Cancer Treatment Causer The Spread of Cancer

One of the obstacles to immunotherapy for cancer and other traditional treatments is that the disease can reoccur. While it was believed this was due to cancer cells developing resistance to drugs, recent evidence suggests that the problem may be the treatments themselves.

“A Double-Edged Sword”

Penicillin and other antibiotics were once hailed as “wonder drugs,” but overuse resulted in many forms of bacteria adapting and becoming immune to the toxic effects. The medical community felt the same process was behind the tendency of cancer to reoccur and spread to other areas.

A recent discovery by a team of Israeli scientists has shed new light on the problem. Their study involved mice with multiple myeloma, which is produced in bone marrow and spreads throughout the body. They received treatment with bortezomib, an anti-cancer drug with the brand name of Velcade.

The researchers were surprised to find that Velcade caused inflammatory cells in the bone marrow to accelerate the cancer, arming the cells with resistant properties. While they emphasize that “treatment with Velcade is essential and necessary,” the team is working on methods to inhibit the body’s response so treatments are more effective.

Immunotherapy for Cancer: A Personalized Approach

Our Issels® immunotherapy treatments are developed to meet each patient’s individual needs. These integrative programs attack cancer cells directly and treat the underlying causes to reduce the risk of tumor growth and reoccurrence.

Contact us to learn more about cancer vaccines, NK cells and the other non-toxic immunotherapy for cancer treatments offered at Issels®.

Cancer Research, Immunotherapy, Immunotherapy for Cancer, News

Immunotherapy is the Hot Buzz in the World of Cancer Research Publications

Could Immunotherapy Be Your Miracle Treatment?
Cancer Immunothereapy in the News

Thanks to rapid and effective developments, immunotherapy for cancer continues to be a hot topic in the medical community. A recent analysis shows the explosive growth of this subject in academic and industrial publications.

Immunotherapy for Cancer in the News

Results of the analysis conducted by Drs. Enal Razvi and Gary Oosta were published in Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. Data was based on publications in the broad space of cancer immunology, which have seen exponential growth from zero in the early ’70s to more than 600 in the past year.

While there has been a clear increase in quantity, what about qualitative measures? A word cloud corresponding to titles and abstracts shows that the major areas of focus are “cancer,” “immunotherapy,” “cells,” “immune” and “tumor.”

Drilling down to find the key components of these publications, the most commonly mentioned one is “dendritic cells,” which play a vital role in initiating the immune response. “Cell death” (apoptosis) has generated 33 percent annual growth.

What Does the Future Hold?

Drs. Razvi and Oosta drew the following conclusions:

  • Understanding in vivo mechanisms and pathways driving immunological cascades is crucial for continued progress.
  • Companies will continue clinical trials, both individually and in collaboration with others.
  • Immunotherapy for cancer will eventually use biomarkers to identify which populations and sub-populations are the optimum candidates for specific treatments.

Individualized Blueprints for Immunotherapy

At Issels®, our integrative therapies are personalized based on each patient’s lifestyle and genetic makeup as well as the tumor microenvironment. Contact us today to hear success stories from patients of all ages who have dealt with leukemia, melanoma and other forms of cancer.

Cancer Research, Immunotherapy, Immunotherapy for Cancer

Research Being Done to Boost Immunotherapy Response in the Tumor Microenvironment

New Smart Blood Test Allows Doctors to Tailor Treatment
The Microenvironment

Cancer cells often proliferate due to their ability to evade the body’s natural defense system. Immunotherapy for cancer eliminates this advantage by boosting the response of immune cells, but researchers have discovered a possible roadblock: a limited amount of cellular “fuel.”

Running on Empty

A team at the University of Pittsburgh conducted a study to determine why treated T cells lose mitochondrial function once they are reintroduced to the tumor environment. They confirmed that the reaction is definitely a result of proximity to the tumor and not a side effect of activation.

Data obtained during testing showed that the tumor microenvironment contains signals that repress oxidative metabolism in T cells. In effect, the cells starve from lack of energy.

Stoking the Flames

The study, published last August in the journal Immunity, found that T cells suffer a progressive loss of a PPAR-gamma coactivator that programs mitochondrial function. Laboratory testing on rats showed that just as T cells can be treated to better detect and fight tumor cells, they can be treated with the coactivator to maintain effective metabolism levels.

Dr. Greg M. Delgoffe, leader of the University of Pittsburgh team, has joined with other scientists to develop new methods of immunotherapy for cancer using the study’s results. Strategies include incorporating commonly used drugs along with further T cell modification to stimulate metabolism.

Issels®: The Leader in State-of-the-Art Immunotherapy

Our innovative, personally tailored therapies fight cancer by focusing on both the tumor and its microenvironment for more effective treatment. Contact us to learn more about our non-toxic protocols such as cancer vaccines and NK cells.

Cancer Research, News

Ovarian Cancer May Now be linked to Douching

Is Douching Really a Good Idea?
Is Douching Really a Good Idea?

Douching dates back to ancient times, but studies have uncovered numerous reasons why it’s more harmful than good. Now comes news that women who douche may be doubling their chances of developing ovarian cancer.

First Study to Link Douching with Ovarian Cancer

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) recently issued the results of a study begun in 2003 involving 41,000 women in the United States and Puerto Rico. All were between the ages of 35 and 74 and had a sister who had been diagnosed with breast cancer, although they themselves had neither breast nor ovarian cancer.

In July 2014, ovarian cancer was detected in 154 women. Those who reported douching during the year prior to entering the study were nearly twice as likely to have developed ovarian cancer. The reasons behind the connection are still unknown and will be explored through further research.

Is Douching Necessary?

While douching is supposedly hygienic, it actually results in an excess of bacteria that can back up into the uterus, Fallopian tubes and ovaries. Health problems linked with douching include pelvic inflammatory disease, cervical cancer and reduced fertility.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 25 percent of women between the ages of 25 and 44 use douches. Clarice Weinberg, lead author of the NIEHS study, warns that there are “a number of health reasons not to douche” and no good reasons to continue.

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

Our immunotherapy for cancer treatments have helped patients diagnosed with breast and ovarian cancer as well as many other forms. Contact us to learn more about our personalized non-toxic treatment methods.

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.