Category Archives: Cancer Research

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

Which Type of Prostate Cancer Do You Have? Scientists Find 5 Types

Prostate Cancer In Men
Prostate Cancer In Men

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in U.S. men, with 1 in 7 being diagnosed. Experts now say that there are five distinct types of prostate cancer. How can this help you in your prostate cancer battle? Issels® Center for Immuno-Oncology wants you to know…

Identifying the pieces
In the landmark study, samples of healthy and cancerous prostate tissue from over 250 men were analyzed, looking for abnormal chromosomes and measuring the activity of 100 different genes linked to the disease. Tumors of five distinct types were uncovered, each with a unique genetic fingerprint.

Putting the puzzle together
Prior research had identified six of the genes associated with prostate cancer, however the other 94 remained in hiding until brought to light by this recent study.

Solving the puzzle
The findings from this study could dramatically change the way prostate cancer is treated in the future. In identifying characteristics of the tumors, the scientists in the study were able to be more accurate at predicting aggressive, rapidly spreading cancers than today’s tests, such as the PSA test and Gleason score.

The missing piece
Current treatment methods, which result in some patients getting unnecessary treatment (and having to manage side effects) while others with more aggressive forms of prostate cancer often go without the intensive treatments they need will be impacted by this important study.  The study findings could save lives by allowing doctors the opportunity to quickly identify specific cancer subtypes. This specialized classification may allow a more fitting course of treatment for each patient and help those identified with the aggressive classification of prostate cancer to get treatment faster and earlier. Before this typing of prostate cancer tumors can be used to start saving lives however, a larger trial needs to be done.

Looking for a center for immune-oncology that can handle every healthcare variable? Issels® has you covered! Contact us today.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, News

Levitating Cells May Lead to a Cancer Cure Breakthrough

Super Charged Cells
levitating Cells

Our Issels® team is extremely supportive of any process that makes detecting cancer cells easier, which is why we are highly enthusiastic about research published in May’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences about a potential new diagnostic tool that can detect cancer at the cellular level in a fast and simple way.

Researchers at Stanford University have learned how to detect and identify different types of cancer cells by levitating them.

It’s Not Magic

When most people hear the word “levitate,” they think of magicians tricking audiences into believing magic exists by floating objects or people in the air.

Scientists have discovered that they can levitate animals by injecting them with a material that reacts to the presence of magnets. The Stanford researchers wondered if they could do the same with cells to determine if cells had different measurable magnetic field levitation profiles. As cells are too small to inject with materials without damaging them, the researchers decided to test their theory using a buoyant force:

  • They placed a channel of gadolinium-laced fluid between two small magnets and soon found that any cells that were less dense than gadolinium levitated above it.
  • They learned that cancer cells levitated above healthy cells and that cancer, bacteria, blood and yeast cells levitated at different heights.
  • They also discovered that cells that form different types of cancer, such as breast, colorectal, esophageal and non-small cell lung had unique profiles and levitated at different heights.

For more information about this astounding new diagnostic test research, or any of our currently available testing and treatment methods, contact any Issels® center for Immuno-Oncology today!

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

Epigenomics Research May Stop Progression of Late Stage Cancers

Advances In Genetics
Advanced Cancer Research

A late stage cancer patient’s survival depends a great deal on his/her doctor doing whatever possible to determine the cause of that cancer. At the Issels® Centers for Immuno-Oncology, our teams use every means at our disposal to understand your cancer and create a personalized treatment plan. We take into account new diagnosis, prevention and treatment options.

Research details announced in June give new hope for late stage patients: Mayo Clinic oncologists and an international team revealed that they may have found a way to stop the spread of late stage cancers using epigenomics and epigenetics research.

Additionally, they may be able to use their research to soon identify people predisposed to certain cancers before early tumor formation.

How do epigenomics and epigenetics help?

  • Epigenomics is a discipline that focuses on the study of epigenomes – chemical compounds that change a genome without changing the DNA they surround – and their role in cells correctly reading and following genetic blueprints.
  • Epigenetics is the study of all processes that dictate how gene expression changes, the timing of those changes and the results.

The Simplicity of Comparison

The researchers compared normal DNA and tumor-sourced mutated DNA and learned that the loss of H3K36me3 expression plays a role in aggressive late stage cancers. Their new treatment method is not yet approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, but they are currently offering experimental treatment to volunteers as part of their continued research.

To learn more about this and other new treatment options, contact us today!

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

Researchers Find a Single Protein That Causes Cancer to Spread

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New Protein in Blood Found To Spread Cancer
New Protein in Blood Found To Spread Cancer

At the Issels® Center for Immuno-Oncology, we provide you with as much information as possible about recent medical research discoveries that advance your goals and ours of preventing, treating and curing cancer. One recent wonderful breakthrough could prevent cancer from the breast spreading to the brain.

While studying breast cancer, researchers from The Institute of Cancer Research of London and the University of Leeds found a protein that promotes the growth of new blood vessels. Why does this protein, which they have designated as DOCK4, matter?

Tumor Growth Cycle

Cancer needs food to survive and grow. This food, in the form of oxygen and nutrients found in blood, reaches existing cancer cells through blood vessels. When new blood vessels form close to these cells, the cells multiply and the cancer spreads.

The Research Results

The researchers learned the following about DOCK4 and cancer:

  • DOCK4, along with another protein designated DOCK9, are critical to the formation of the interior of blood vessels — the channels through which blood flows.
  • Removing DOCK4 and DOCK9 using precision techniques slowed blood vessel growth.

The researchers hope these results will one day assist them when creating new methods for halting the growth of secondary breast cancer tumors. Additionally, a better understanding of blood vessel formation could help them to create a method for identifying men and women who are at greater risk for getting brain and other tumors caused by breast cancer.

We are impressed at Issels® with this new research and extremely hopeful for what it means for the future of cancer detection and immunotherapy treatments. For more information, contact us today!

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

21 Year Old Student Sets Her Goal – Find a Cure for Cancer

Finding The Cure
Finding The Cure

At Issels®, we want you to know more about existing and up-and-coming professionals who have dedicated their lives to treating and curing cancer using precision medicine. Marissa Market, a 21-year-old from Essex, Canada who recently graduated from the University of Windsor with a degree in biology, is one of those amazing people.

As noted by The Windsor Star, Marissa first announced to her parents her intention to cure cancer when she was still an elementary school student. Since that time, she has never forgotten that goal.

Amazing Facts About Marissa Market

  • Marissa’s youth was filled with achievements. She studied in The International Baccalaureate program, co-authored a textbook about epigenetics and volunteered in the research lab of Dr. Lisa Porter at the University of Windsor when she was only in 9th grade.
  • She gained a lab position with Dr. Porter as a college sophomore and won NSERC government grants three summers in a row so she could research mutations of a protein called tuberin that causes one type of cancer.
  • Marissa, competing against 1,600 others, won one of only four available openings in the University of Ottawa’s prestigious seven-year MD/PhD program that focuses on physician and cancer treatment research graduate study because she plans to research viruses and other techniques used to fight cancer.

Marissa Market represents a new generation of doctors who specialize in research. This type of combined study means that these physicians are uniquely qualified to provide the best precision treatments to their patients.

For more information about Marissa and other cancer treatment pioneers, or to talk with us about our integrative immunotherapy methods, contact our Issels® team today.

After Cancer, Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

Chemotherapy and the Risk of Second Cancers

Confident doctor looking at his senior patient while speaking to her
Do you feel that you physician clearly understands your needs?

Cancer is a tough disease. The treatment options can often cause their own set of problems. This is especially true when it comes to chemotherapy. At Issels®, a center for immuno-oncology, doctors sometimes see patients develop myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Essentially, chemotherapy can expose patients to high doses of harmful chemicals that then cause further cell mutations, creating a sort of slippery slope that can be hard to climb back up.

Despite the inherent dangers of undergoing chemotherapy, it is still a popular and to a certain degree an effective treatment. The key is to understand the risks and fully discuss your options with your doctor. If you are undergoing cancer treatment and you feel like your doctor is simply telling you what the next step is, without consulting you about quality of life consequences, then you may want to seek out a second opinion from another oncologist or a whole other perspective about non-toxic treatment options from the experts at Issels®.

Through years of research and clinical experience treating patients, we have discovered that a comprehensive approach to treatment that takes into consideration the individual patient’s specific situation and his/her own input is by far the best way to fight against cancer and minimize the side effects of treatment. Short term chemotherapy can be life-saving in the case of aggressively growing tumors that endanger a vital organ, but long-term chemotherapy inevitably damages the bone marrow and suppresses the immune system. To achieve long-term remission we need to restore your body’s own healing power. A non-toxic strategy that includes boosting your immune system, so that treatment is as effective as possible, is one of our hallmarks. Combining our expertise in immuno-oncology with non-toxic treatments may also help reduce your chances of developing other complications and second cancers.

Every patient has his/her individual cancer and specific challenges. This means that every treatment plan needs to be individualized in order to produce optimal results. Contact Issels® to get more information today.