Category Archives: Cancer Research

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.

Cancer Research, News

World Cancer Research Fund: Your Weight Does Impact Cancer Risk

Maintaining a Healthy Weight Reduces Cancer Risk
Maintaining a Healthy Weight Reduces Cancer Risk

Maintaining a healthy weight is beneficial mentally and emotionally as well as physically. Excess weight is linked to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and many other serious health problems. In addition, statistics show that obesity presents the strongest cancer risk of any lifestyle factors.

The Link between Cancer and Lifestyle

According to the World Cancer Research Fund, 20 percent of cancer cases in the United States are at least partially attributable to one or more of these lifestyle factors:

  • Obesity
  • Lack of physical activity
  • Excessive alcohol consumption
  • Inadequate nutrition

Out of these four elements, excess body weight contributes to 20 percent of all cancer-related deaths.

How Excess Weight Affects Cancer Risk

Excess body fat creates a number of imbalances that can lead to the development or growth of cancer cells, such as:

  • Interference with the immune system response
  • Skewed levels of hormones, as well as the proteins that help the body process them
  • Improper levels of substances that control cell growth

Does Weight Loss Help?

While studies regarding weight loss and cancer are still limited, growing evidence suggests that it can reduce the risk of post-menopausal breast cancer and more aggressive forms of prostate cancer. Ongoing tests are examining the relationship between weight loss and other forms of cancer.

The weight per se is not the contributing factor. It’s the physical changes weight loss brings, such as normalizing hormone levels that help reduce cancer risk.

Immunotherapy for Cancer Includes Lifestyle Considerations

Cancer Research, News

Very Hot Beverages Classed as Cancer Causing by WHO

Coffee Is Unlikely To Cause Cancer
Coffee Is Unlikely To Cause Cancer

If you’re a coffee drinker, you’ll be happy to hear that the World Health Organization (WHO) has downgraded coffee as a cancer risk. But make sure you’re not drinking it at excessively high temperatures, as hot beverages are now classified as carcinogens.

Coffee is “Unlikely to Cause” Cancer

WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), composed of 23 scientists from 10 countries, put coffee on its list of possible cancer risks in 1991, when studies revealed a link to bladder cancer. Modern, more sophisticated tests have shown there is no way to prove a definitive connection.

Further review of current studies has led IARC to conclude that coffee most likely does not cause breast cancer, prostate cancer or pancreatic cancer, while risks of liver cancer and endometrial cancer may actually be reduced. Coffee beans contain antioxidants, which are believed to protect against cancer, but increased consumption of caffeine can lead to other health problems, including insomnia and migraines.

Link between Cancer and Excessively Hot Beverages

Studies of hot beverages focused on consumption of mate, a caffeine-rich tea popular in South America. A link was found between mate and esophageal cancer, but the drink is traditionally served at temperatures above 149°F, while in the United States coffee and other hot drinks are served at lower temperatures.

Immunotherapy for Cancer Fights Bladder, Esophageal and All Forms of Cancer

Our Issels® center, a longtime leader in state-of-the-art immunotherapy for cancer, has successfully treated patients with all forms of cancer, ranging from bladder and esophageal to breast and lung. Contact us to learn more about our non-toxic personally developed immunotherapy treatments.

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.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Immunotherapy

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors – The Role They Play in Cancer Immunotherapy

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

“Immune checkpoint inhibitors” is a term increasingly heard in reference to advancements in immunotherapy for cancer. These drugs have shown the ability to aid your body’s own immune system in attacking and killing cancer cells.

Lifting the Disguise from Cancer Cells

Think of checkpoints as your internal customs agents. Checkpoint proteins help the immune system differentiate between normal cells and foreign cells, then trigger a defensive response against the invaders.

Cancer cells sometimes have larger amounts of proteins than found in normal cells, which provide a camouflage allowing them to grow and divide without interference from the immune system. Checkpoint inhibitors target the appropriate proteins, removing the “mask” so the immune system can do its job.

Types of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

PD-1, which is found on T-cells, acts as a checkpoint by binding itself to another protein called PD-L1, letting the T-cells know they should leave the other cells alone.

  • Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and nivolumab (Opdivo) target PD-1 on the T-cells.
  • Atezolizumab (Tecentriq) targets PD-L1, the protein that helps cancer cells evade the immune system.
  • Ipilimumab (Yervoy) targets CTLA-4, another protein found on T-cells.

These drugs have been successfully used to treat kidney cancer, melanoma, bladder cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and non-small cell lung cancer. Research continues on other types of cancer, using these drugs independently as well as in combination with other drugs.

Issels®: A Pioneer in Immunotherapy for Cancer

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are just one of the cutting-edge treatments used at Issels®. Our individually designed protocols may also include cancer vaccines and activation of natural killer cells. Contact us to learn more about our non-toxic, state-of-the-art protocols.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy, News

What’s Happening in Immunotherapy Research – Part Two

Advances in Cancer Therapies
Advances in Cancer Therapies

There’s so much exciting news in research involving immunotherapy for cancer that we couldn’t cover it all in one post! Here’s a continuation of our look at new and improved ways scientists are finding to fight cancer.

Cancer Vaccines

Vaccines have long been a promising form of treatment for cancer. One roadblock limiting progress is the ability of cancer cells to fly under the radar of the immune system.

Armed with a growing body of knowledge gained through years of research, scientists are finding methods to boost the effectiveness of vaccines. For example, vaccines are sometimes given in tandem with substances called adjuvants that make the immune response more efficient.

Checkpoint Inhibitors

You may have seen advertisements for products such as nivolumab, which is referred to as an immune checkpoint inhibitor. Cancer cells often elude the immune system by “hiding” behind checkpoint proteins that prevent immune responses against normal cells. Inhibitors target the checkpoints, freeing the immune system to attack cancer cells.

Oncolytic Viruses

Viruses are normally something to avoid, but researchers have found ways to harness their ability to infect and kill cells. Specific modifications alter certain viruses, creating oncolytic viruses that direct their attacks toward cancer cells, while also alerting the immune system to take action.

Is Immunotherapy for Cancer the Answer for You?

For years, Issels® has been a leader in immunotherapy treatments such as cancer vaccines and gene-targeted therapies. Contact us for more information about our non-toxic immunotherapy programs and how they are individually tailored to meet your specific needs.