Category Archives: Cancer Treatment

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Cancer Treatment, Uncategorized

The Keto Diet May Prove Beneficial to Cancer Patients While in Treatment

April 18, 2018 Chris 1 Comment

What You Put in Your Body Could Be Affecting Your Likelihood of Catching Cancer.

People are always looking for the next great diet in an effort to lose weight. The recently popular ketogenic diet could have some surprising benefits for patients undergoing cancer treatment.

The Warburg Effect

Cancer cells proliferate via the Warburg effect, named for the scientist who first advanced the idea. Fermentation is a process by which sugars are metabolized to provide energy for bacteria. Sauerkraut and yogurt are some of the more widely-known products of fermentation.

Unlike normal body cells, which derive their energy from mitochondria, cancer cells receive energy from fermentation of glucose within cytoplasm. When a cell starts getting energy from glucose, it can be the first sign of abnormal cell function that ultimately results in formation of a tumor.

The Ketogenic Diet: Starving Cancer Cells

A keto diet plan is low in carbohydrates and high in fat. The science behind it is based on a biological response that dates back to prehistoric times. When food was scarce, the body responded by shifting metabolic gears and using stored fat as fuel.

When the body’s supply of carbs is restricted, it shuts off the flow of glucose and other cancer-promoting fuels. As cancer cells become compromised, the body resumes its normal cellular signaling, putting the brakes on further tumor development.

The keto diet should not be considered a cure for cancer. However, it’s a valuable tool for use in conjunction with immunotherapy and other cancer treatment.

Immunotherapy and Nutrition: A Winning Combination

Good nutrition is a perfect complement for our non-toxic cancer treatment programs. Visit our website for more information about cancer vaccines and other individually created treatments.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Cancer Treatment, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy, Immunotherapy for Cancer, Uncategorized

Ribosomes May be Hijacked to Protein Fuel for Cancers

April 13, 2018 Chris

It's Time to Stop Cancer — It’s Time to Stop Cancer

Cancer cells often have an uncanny ability to hijack the functions of normal body cells. Scientists have focused on this property in the belief that deciphering the process will lead to more effective cancer treatment.

Thanks to the results of a Yale University study, the scientific community may be a little closer to this goal. Discovery of unknown pathways to fuel sources provides insights into the development and growth of cancer.

How Cell Proteins Drive Cancer Growth

Organelles are specialized structures in cells that carry out certain tasks, much like organs do for the human body. One of these organelles, called the nucleolus, produces ribosomes, which in turn manufacture proteins.

Ribosomes can be hijacked by cancer cells to divert protein production in order to fuel cancer growth. In a study published in Cell Reports, Dr. Susan Baserga of Yale University and two of her graduate students screened 18,000 proteins that are vital to nucleoli formation.

A Target for Immunotherapy Cancer Treatment?

Dr. Baserga and her team found 139 proteins that serve as a type of master switching network. The proteins represent countless cellular pathways that control the production of ribosomes. This discovery clarifies the link between ribosomes and cancer as well as the one between ribosomes and certain birth defects known as ribosomopathies.

Personalized Cancer Treatment at Issels®

Our innovative cancer treatments target both the tumor and its microenvironment. Immunotherapy programs at Issels® are created specifically to address a patient’s individual needs.

Contact us to learn how our effective cancer treatments have helped patients whose advanced cancers were non-responsive to traditional therapies.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Cancer Treatment, News, Uncategorized

New Possible Cervical Cancer Treatments Focus on Cancer’s Energy Supply

April 11, 2018 Chris

A new potential cervical cancer treatment is making waves. After decades of the same, largely unchanged treatment protocol, there may be a new hope on the horizon. A study conducted on mice by the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has uncovered that cervical tumors that don’t respond to radiation are vulnerable to therapies that cut off cancer’s energy supply at the source.

Turning Cervical Cancer ‘Off’
The mice used in the study, implanted with human cervical cancer cells, provided some interesting data. When treated with a combination of radiation and 3 drugs designed to slow tumor metabolism, cancer’s ability to burn glucose and protect itself was shut down, thwarting cancer cell survival attempts.

The Sugar-Zapping Theory
Cancer cells take up glucose in larger amounts than normal tissues. Researchers in the study observed that tumors resisting treatment were those that took up a large deal of glucose prior to radiation therapy. On the hypothesis that sugar strengthens tumor resistance, they decided to delve closer into what would happen if that sugar uptake was inhibited.

Shocking Potential
With glucose eliminated as a food source, cancer cells must scavenge for sustenance. In typical treatment modalities, cancer will rally by hitting the cells’ metabolic pathways in two more ways simultaneously, making tumors vulnerable to their own self-created toxic stew.

Free radical toxicity escalates, eventually devastating the cancer cells. As healthy cells don’t rely on this fuel production pathway, no obvious negative side-effects were revealed. Future studies will explore this cancer treatment’s potential in HPV-induced cervical cancer.

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Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Cancer Treatment, News

Targeting Proteins May Prevent Metastasis of Cancers

April 9, 2018 Chris

New research has uncovered the existence of a protein that helps tumors spread, enabling their capacity to grow blood vessels. Could targeting this protein in cancer treatment experimentation lead to a new potential cure?

Not So Fast!
Published in the journal Oncogene, the study involved laboratory experiments blocking the protein latent TGF-beta binding protein 3 (LTBP3), prevented tumors from effectively metastasizing. A collaborative effort between multiple researchers, the investigation began based on the observation that lower levels of the protein LTBP3 correlated to an improved survival outcome in those with certain types of cancer.

A Complex Dynamic
The LTBP3 protein binds to a substance called TGF-beta to metastasize. TGF-beta presents a double-edged sword, either aiding the spread of tumors – or putting a halt to metastasis. Our bodies rely on TGF-beta to function properly. In early stages, it suppresses cancer growth. However in advanced cancers, it transforms and promotes tumor growth. The cancer treatment trick? To control the harmful effects of TGF-beta without disturbing normal cell function.

A Confirmed Association
As researchers looked closer into the interplay of LTBP3 and TGF-beta using head and neck carcinoma and fibroscarcoma in mice and chicks, the scientists discovered LTBP3 helps tumors grow blood vessels, and primary tumors could not metastasize properly in its absence. This corroborated the previous research associating lower levels of the LTBP3 protein with better patient outcomes. Further research into this complex dynamic is highly anticipated.

Looking for a more targeted cancer treatment plan? Issels® unique, highly-personalized cancer treatment protocols are clinically-proven, scientifically-backed, and compatible with both traditional and alternative treatment therapies. Learn more about the Issels® immunotherapy difference today.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Cancer Treatment, Cancer Vaccine, News

Specialized DNA Nanobots Close Cancer Tumor’s Blood Supply

April 6, 2018 Chris

Robotics has made quite a splash in manufacturing and industrial applications, and now it’s on the brink of a breakthrough in a completely different arena. Future cancer treatment options may include an army of tiny tumor-fighting nanobots.

Biochemistry Meets Industrial Technology

The concept is in the preliminary stages, so real-life use is still far off on the horizon. Scientists are encouraged by the results of a study that was recently published in Nature Biotechnology.

Researchers conducted the test on a group of mice with human breast cancer tumors. Specially engineered DNA nanobots containing a payload of thrombin, an enzyme that causes blood to clot, were then injected intravenously into the affected mice.

Once inside, the nanobots delivered the thrombin directly to tumor-associated blood vessels, where they induced intravascular thrombosis. As a result, cancer cells were deprived of their blood supply and ultimately died off.

Sparing Healthy Cells

While scientists welcome any advancement in cancer treatment, one particular aspect of DNA nanobots is especially promising. During testing on the mice, the nanobots focused exclusively on cancer cells. There was no damage to healthy cells, unlike results often found in traditional cancer treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy.

Issels®: The Leader in Personally Designed Cancer Treatment Programs

Our founder, Dr. Josef M. Issels, was a visionary in the field of immunotherapy for cancer. We’re proud to carry on his legacy by offering non-toxic treatment programs that are individually tailored to meet each patient’s unique needs.

Contact us to learn more about our core treatment protocols and how we have helped patients with advanced and therapy-resistant cancers achieve long-term remission.

Cancer Research, Cancer Treatment, News

Liquid Biopsy Test for Cancer Has Problematic Accuracy Results

April 4, 2018 Chris

Early detection improves the chances of successful cancer treatment, so recent news of a “liquid biopsy” has encouraged the medical community. Unfortunately, the test is showing unacceptable levels of accuracy, leaving the procedure a long way from any real-world applications.

Controlled vs. Real World Conditions

CancerSEEK uses a blood sample for a battery of tests to measure tumor biomarkers and identify cancer-associated DNA mutations. During clinical studies, researchers obtained some promising results.

By the team’s own admission, the conditions were optimized to facilitate detection of cancer. Even so, most of the cancers detected were late-stage while the goal of screening was to find cancer in the early stages.

Accuracy problems in less-controlled environments became more clear in a 2017 study involving 40 prostate cancer patients who underwent liquid biopsies to fine-tune their therapy programs. Each sample was sent to two different labs with similar technology, but the results differed for more than half of the patients.

Are Liquid Biopsies the Answer?

Researchers are also questioning the full value of a positive result. While the test may detect the presence of cancer, it gives no clues as to the location of the tumor, unlike traditional screenings such as mammograms and CT scans.

Scientists will no doubt continue to study the science behind liquid biopsies, as detection of circulating tumor DNA can have other applications. The question remains whether liquid biopsies have a viable future as useful cancer screening.