Category Archives: Immuno-Oncology

Cancer Treatment, Cancer Vaccine, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy, Immunotherapy for Cancer, Uncategorized

3-D Printing Allows Doctors to “Practice” Cancer Surgery

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New Technology Helps to Train Doctors
New Technology Helps to Train Doctors

The classic med school model of practicing surgery on cadavers may soon be a thing of the past. Some doctors are now using 3-D printing models of patients’ organs as guides to improve outcomes of cancer treatment.

3-D Printing Improves Success of Prostate Cancer Treatment

While 3-D printing has been around since the mid-1980s, it’s just now coming into focus as a valuable tool for medical applications. One of the current pioneers of 3-D “surgery” is the USC Institute of Urology of Keck Medicine of USC.

Surgeons such as Dr. Inderbir Gill, executive director of the Institute, are using 3-D printed organs for patients with prostate cancer. The reproduction allows doctors to determine the precise location of tumors, which is virtually impossible to do during actual surgery.

Working with a 3-D model also helps surgeons reduce the risk of serious side effects that can occur during contact with areas surrounding the prostate. According to Dr. Gill, precision tools such as 3-D printing greatly improve the chances of completely removing the cancer.

Fine-Tuning Medication Dosage with 3-D Models

Another promising application of 3-D medical printing in cancer treatment involves the use of radiopharmaceuticals. Drugs containing radioactive material are administered to patients intravenously, orally, or placed inside a body cavity.

It’s challenging to determine a radiopharmaceutical dose that’s powerful enough to kill cancer cells without damaging healthy tissues as well. 3-D printing provides a vehicle to find the right balance.

Issels® Leads the Way in Non-Toxic Cancer Treatment

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Cancer Research, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy, Immunotherapy for Cancer, News

What’s Happening in Colorectal Cancer Research?

 

Cancer Research is Making Progress Every Day. Here is the Latest for Colorectal Cancer.
Cancer Research is Making Progress Every Day. Here is the Latest for Colorectal Cancer.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in the United States, but there are currently more than one million survivors in the country. The National Foundation for Cancer Research has some information you should know about this preventable disease.

Rates and Risks of Colorectal Cancer

• Overall risks of developing colorectal cancer are marginally higher for men. Approximately one in 21 is diagnosed with the disease, while the numbers for women are one in 23.

• Health factors that increase the risk of colorectal cancer include inflammatory bowel disorders, family history and genetics, and personal history of polyps or another form of cancer.

• Poor lifestyle choices such as smoking, obesity and high-fat diets, heavy alcohol use and physical inactivity also contribute to colorectal cancer risk.

• Regular screenings can help prevent colorectal cancer.

Colorectal Cancer Research in the News

Genomics and immunotherapy for cancer are the main focus points of today’s colorectal cancer research.

• Dr. Wei Zhang and his NFCR-funded team are continuing their promising studies into biomarkers and their use in improving colorectal cancer prognosis and predicting responses to treatment.

• NFCR has also supported the work of Dr. Yung-Chi Cheng, who is on the cusp of producing one of the first FDA-approved oral herbal immunotherapies for cancer. When applied in combination with chemotherapy, PH906 has been found to ease gastrointestinal side effects that accompany treatment for colon and rectal cancers.

Personally Developed Immunotherapy for Cancer at Issels®

Our integrative, non-toxic cancer treatment programs are powerful and effective, but they avoid the often painful side effects of traditional treatments. Contact us for more information.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Treatment, Immuno-Oncology

Tumor Heterogeneity: Why Some Tumors Metastasize or are Drug Resistant

Each Body Is Unique, and So Is Curing Each Cancerous Tumor.
Each Body Is Unique, and So Is Curing Each Cancerous Tumor.

For decades, scientists have tried to uncover the mysteries behind the complex behaviors of cancer cells. Thanks to gene sequencing and other molecular diagnosis tools, they are beginning to understand the process behind metastasis and drug resistance.

Solving the Puzzles of Metastasis and Drug Resistance

Cancer treatment is sometimes hampered by two significant problems:

• Metastasis, or stage IV cancer, occurs when cancer cells migrate from the original site to other parts of the body. Surgery is no longer an option at stage IV, which significantly reduces survival rates.

• Drug resistance sets in when treatment reaches a point where cancer cells are no longer vulnerable to attack and they resume spreading.

Scientists have discovered that cancer cells can vary greatly between the original site and metastatic site, and even within a single tumor. This characteristic is referred to as tumor heterogeneity.

How Does Tumor Heterogeneity Affect Cancer Treatment?

Research has uncovered significant evidence demonstrating that cancer cells continue to evolve.

• Gene mutations can create a subset of cancer cells with the ability to break away from the original tumor site.

• Drugs that target specific cancer cells can lose effectiveness as the original mutations are lost.

Doctors are using this knowledge of tumor heterogeneity to prescribe combination therapies that attack multiple genetic and molecular targets.

Issels®: A Pioneer in Combination Therapies

Our individual immunotherapy programs are integrative, combining treatments that work together to form a comprehensive attack on cancer cells. Contact us to learn why Issels® is the right choice for powerful and non-toxic cancer treatment for patients in late and early stages.

Cancer Research, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy, Immunotherapy for Cancer

What to Know About Sarcomas – Soft Tissue and Bone

Being Aware of the Signs of Cancer Can be an Effective Way to Catch Cancer Before its Too Late.
Being Aware of the Signs of Cancer Can be an Effective Way to Catch Cancer Before its Too Late.

Sarcoma is a relatively rare form of cancer, so it doesn’t have the same public awareness as leukemia, breast cancer or other well-known types. Here’s what you should know about this “forgotten cancer.”

What Is Sarcoma?

Sarcomas can be found anywhere within the body. They fall into two general types: soft tissue sarcoma, which occurs in muscles, blood vessels and connective tissue, and bone sarcoma.

Approximately 15,000 new cases of sarcoma are projected to be diagnosed in the United States during 2017. While the five-year survival rate is around 50 percent, sarcomas are known to frequently recur and metastasize.

5 Important Facts About Sarcoma

• Sarcomas account for only about one percent of adult cancer diagnoses, but they make up roughly 15 percent of cancers diagnosed in youngsters under the age of 20.

• While sarcomas can be found anywhere in the body, 50 to 60 percent of soft tissue sarcomas occur in the arms and legs.

• Most sarcomas arise from unknown causes. Certain genetic conditions or exposure to toxins can increase risk.

• Due to its rareness and lack of symptoms in the early stages, sarcoma is difficult to detect and diagnose.

• Few doctors have much experience with cancer treatment for sarcoma, so it’s essential to follow up a diagnosis with a second opinion from a specialist.

Personalized Cancer Treatment at Issels®

Whether you’ve been diagnosed with a rare cancer like sarcoma or a more common form such as lung cancer, we will create a specific immunotherapy cancer treatment to address your individual needs. Contact us to learn more about the Issels® difference.

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

New Biomarker May Predict the Body’s Response to Chemotherapy and Radiation

There is New Hope for Cancer Patients. Don't Give up!
There is New Hope for Cancer Patients. Don’t Give up!

One of the difficulties doctors have in prescribing cancer treatment is knowing which methods will be most effective. That may change with the discovery of a biomarker that may help predict a tumor’s response to chemotherapy and radiation.

How Cell Division Affects Cancer Development

When cells divide, the duplicated chromosomes are pulled apart into the two new cells. A malfunction in this process can lead to chromosomal instability, which has the potential to drive development of cancer cells.

Researchers set out to study the expression of genes associated with normal chromosome division. Specifically, they wanted to find out how genetic changes contribute to chromosomal instability and whether these changes held clues regarding the behavior of tumors.

Genetic Markers of Chromosomal Instability

The team from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory examined 31 genes that had previously been identified as part of the chromosome division process. They discovered that these genes were over- or under-expressed in different types of cancer as opposed to corresponding normal tissue samples.

This led to the development of a 14-gene subset named the Centromere and kinetochore gene Expression Score, or CES. When measuring CES in tumor sample databases, the researchers found that a high score correlated with elevated levels of chromosomal instability.

Based on these encouraging results, researchers are hopeful that the biomarker can be used to predict response to cancer treatment as well as prognosis with or without treatment.

Immunotherapy: An Integrative Approach to Cancer Treatment

Immunotherapy at Issels® doesn’t carry the risk of debilitating side effects that accompanies traditional cancer treatments. Contact us for more information.

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

Synthetic Biomarkers May Aid in Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer

Early Treatment of Ovarian Cancer is Important

Ovarian cancer is notoriously difficult to detect in the early stages, resulting in poor survival rates for patients. MIT engineers have developed a synthetic biomarker that could detect ovarian tumors five months earlier than current testing methods.

Early Cancer Treatment of Ovarian Tumors

Five-year survival rates surpass 90 percent when ovarian cancer is detected early. Unfortunately, the disease is usually asymptomatic in the earlier stages. Any symptoms that do present tend to be non-specific, such as fatigue and weight loss.

Current testing looks for the presence of blood biomarkers produced by ovarian tumors, but it can take eight to 10 years for them to reach a high enough concentration to be detected. Ultrasound imaging reveals only tumors that are at least one centimeter in diameter.

Synthetic vs. Natural Biomarkers

Synthetic biomarkers are nanoparticles that interact with tumor proteins. The process releases fragments that can be detected in a patient’s urine, resulting in a more accurate test than one conducted on natural biomarkers in the bloodstream.

Professor Sangeeta Bhatia and her team at MIT engineered a synthetic biomarker to be approximately 15 times better than a previous version. The nanoparticle was then tested against a blood biomarker in mice with ovarian cancer.

The synthetic biomarker was able to detect ovarian cancer composed of tumors as small as two millimeters in diameter. Researchers are now testing the possibility of using this method with other types of cancer.

Personalized Cancer Treatment at Issels®

Every case of cancer is unique, so we use specialized testing to determine the best approach for each patient. Contact us for more information about our immunotherapy cancer treatment programs.