Category Archives: Immuno-Oncology

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

CAR T-Cells May Be an Effective Immunotherapy for Multiple Myeloma

Is Issels Genomic Testing for Personalized Treatment For You
Is Issels Genomic Testing for Personalized Treatment For You?

Researchers have been focusing on CAR T-cells as the basis for a promising immunotherapy cancer treatment. Recent trials show encouraging results for the use of CAR T-cells in fighting advanced multiple myeloma.

CAR T Cells: A New Approach in Cancer Treatment

Scientists are excited about CAR T-cell therapy because it uses a patient’s own immune cells to treat cancer. The cells are gathered from the patient’s blood, engineered to produce chimeric-antigen receptors (CARs), and multiplied in the lab to reach quantities in the billions.

At that point, the cells are reintroduced into the patient’s bloodstream, to where they attach themselves to specific targets on cancer cells. CAR T-cell products, currently awaiting FDA approval, target the CD19 antigen in leukemia and lymphoma.

Can CAR T-Cells Treat Different Cancers?

Two CAR T-cell trials were recently conducted in the United States and China. Results were presented last June at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.

Both trials examined the use of CAR T-cells that target B-cell maturation antigens (BCMA), which are proteins found in myeloma cells. Most of the patients in the studies achieved positive results, with many experiencing complete remission.

CAR T-cell research is still in the early stages. Testing will continue to validate these findings and determine whether CAR T-cell therapy is a viable treatment method for cancer patients.

Issels®: A Pioneer in Immunotherapy

We have a history of successful use of vaccines, NK cells and other cancer treatment methods. Contact us to learn more about why Issels® is the leader in personally developed immunotherapy programs.

Cancer Treatment, Cancer Vaccine, Immuno-Oncology, Uncategorized

New Guidance on Lymph Node Removal for Melanoma Patients

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New Guidance on Lymph Node Surgery
New Guidance on Lymph Node Surgery

Aggressive surgery has often been the preferred approach for patients in whom melanoma has spread to the lymph nodes. Results of a recent trial suggest that a conservative treatment of watchful waiting may actually be more beneficial.

Is Completion Surgery Necessary?

Once a patient is diagnosed with melanoma, the traditional procedure has been to conduct a sentinel lymph node biopsy. If cancer cells are detected, the next step is usually immediate removal of the remaining regional lymph nodes in the surrounding area.

Surgery vs. Watchful Waiting

MSLT-II involved 1,934 participants who had been diagnosed with skin melanoma of medium thickness that had spread to sentinel lymph nodes but nowhere else in the body. Half underwent immediate lymph node removal surgery while the other half were monitored for signs of cancer in the regional lymph nodes.

After three years, 86 percent of patients in each group had not succumbed to melanoma. In addition, 68 percent of the surgery group and 63 percent of the monitored group had not experienced any recurrence of cancer.

Greater Risk of Complications

While difference in recurrence rate was negligible, the surgery group was found to be far more susceptible to complications. Those patients were approximately four times more likely to experience lymphedema, which is a buildup of excess lymph fluid that causes swelling.

Immunotherapy for Cancer: State-of-the-Art Treatment

We have successfully treated patients with melanoma and other forms of cancer in both early and late stages. Contact us to learn more about Issels® and our individually developed, non-toxic immunotherapy for cancer programs.

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

How the Presence of Estrogen Protects Women from Gastric Inflammation Leading to Cancer

Advanced Cancer Research
Advanced Cancer Research

In the past, scientists have attributed gender discrepancies in cancer rates to lifestyle differences. Recent evidence strongly indicates that the cause may actually lie in biological differences instead.

This theory was bolstered by the results of an MIT study involving male mice infected with H. pylori, a bacterium that can lead to gastric cancer. More than 50 percent of people around the globe are infected with H. pylori, and while many remain asymptomatic, gastric cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide.

How Gastric Cancer Develops

H. pylori infections are controlled by the body’s immune system, but a common side effect is gastritis, which is an inflammation of the stomach. The result is conditions that lead to the development of gastric cancer.

Studies have indicated that estrogen can protect women from gastritis, lowering their gastric cancer risk. Conversely, Tamoxifen and other drugs that block estrogen have been linked to higher risk of gastric cancer in women.

Testing the Theory

The mice in the MIT study were treated with estrogen, Tamoxifen or both. None of them developed cancer despite a prior history of gastritis, suggesting that Tamoxifen in the stomach may mimic rather than block estrogen. In the untreated control group, 40 percent of the mice developed gastric cancer.

Issels®: The Leader in Immunotherapy for Cancer

Using estrogen to treat cancer is an example of using the body’s own resources. Immunotherapy for cancer is a non-toxic way to boost the power of your own immune system to fight cancer.

Visit our website to learn more about how Issels® uses personally tailored immunotherapy for cancer to help patients achieve long-term remission.

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

Scientists Uncover a Key Step in Lung Cancer Progression Which May Lead to New Treatments

Advanced Cancer Research
Advanced Cancer Research

Approximately 40 percent of lung cancer cases in the United States involve an aggressive form called adenocarcinoma. Researchers recently identified a vital step in this cancer’s development that could be the key to successful early cancer treatment.

The Path from Benign to Malignant

Lung adenocarcinoma gets its name from adenomas, which are a form of benign tumors. Scientists believe that lung adenocarcinomas begin as adenomas that transition to the more aggressive type.

A team of researchers at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research set out to study the process behind the change from benign to malignant. According to lead author Tuomas Tammela, at some point the tumor cells begin acting like stem cells, allowing for rapid reproduction.

Flipping the Switch

Wnt is a signaling pathway that maintains cells in a stem cell-like state. The team focused on the activity of this pathway in a group of mice programmed to develop lung adenomas that were likely to progress to adenocarcinomas.

While they found that the Wnt pathway was not active in the adenomas, about five to 10 percent of the cells turned it on during the transition. When the mice received cancer treatment that interfered with the Wnt proteins, tumor growth was halted and the mice lived 50 percent longer.

Innovative and Effective Cancer Treatment at Issels®

Our non-toxic, integrative immunotherapy programs have helped cancer patients of all ages at every stage of the disease. Visit our website to read and hear testimonials from patients who have been successfully treated at Issels® for carcinoma, leukemia, breast cancer and all other forms of tumors.

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

Immunotherapy: A “Fundamental Change” in Cancer Treatment

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Medical Research Has Validated that Immunotherapy Works to Fight Cancer
Medical Research Has Validated that Immunotherapy Works to Fight Cancer

As medical researchers have waged a decades-long battle to find a cure for cancer, the possibility of using a patient’s own immune system to fight tumors has been an exciting but unattainable dream. Today that dream is becoming reality with immunotherapy for cancer treatment.

“The Medical Equivalent of Splitting the Atom”

Traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation are designed to attack tumors directly. In contrast, immunotherapy aims to boost the power of a patient’s own immune system to battle cancer.

Dr. Jedd Wolchok, chief of melanoma and immunotherapeutics services at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York City, refers to immunotherapy as a “fundamental change” in the approach to cancer treatment. Billions of dollars are being invested to fund hundreds of trials in which cancer patients anxiously plead to participate.

How Does Immunotherapy Work?

Your immune system is a complex network of cells, tissues and biochemicals that protect your body against illnesses caused by viruses, bacteria and other foreign substances. Cancer is particularly stubborn because it often evades detection by the immune system, allowing tumors to grew unchecked.

Immunotherapy comes in two basic forms:

  • Immune cells are removed from a patient, reprogrammed to fight cancer cells, and returned back into the patient’s bloodstream.
  • Checkpoint inhibitors are drugs that block the mechanisms used by cancer cells to shut down the immune system.

State-of-the-Art Cancer Treatment at Issels®

Our founder, Dr. Josef Issels, was a pioneer in the development of immunotherapy, and we’re proud to continue his legacy of helping patients successfully fight cancer. Contact us to learn more about our innovative programs of individually tailored cancer treatments.

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

Identification of Specific T Cell Presence May Boost Lung Cancer Immunotherapy Treatment Success

New Cancer Research on T Cells
New Cancer Research on T-Cells for Lung Cancer

While immunotherapy for cancer has been a breakthrough for more effective treatment, the challenge is determining which patients will receive the most benefit. A joint US-UK study recently made a discovery that could help solve the problem for lung cancer patients.

Fighting Lung Cancer with T-Cells

The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Southampton and La Jolla (CA) Institute for Allergy and Immunology. The team focused on lung cancer, which is the most common cause of cancer deaths in both countries.

Findings showed that lung cancer patients with larger quantities of tissue-resident memory T-cells in their tumors had a 34 percent greater chance of survival. In addition to serving as protection for the patient, these T-cells produce molecules that attack and destroy cancer cells.

This process corresponds nicely with immunotherapy for cancer, which works by boosting the body’s own natural defense mechanisms against disease. Testing lung cancer patients for levels of tissue-resident memory T-cells can provide an indication of the likelihood that they will benefit from immunotherapy.

Understanding the Role of the Immune System and Immunotherapy

Dr. Justine Alford of Cancer Research UK spoke about the importance of such studies to gain insight into the interaction between cancer cells, the immune system and immunotherapy. She adds that research could lead to more personalized treatments for patients with lung cancer and other forms that are difficult to treat.

Personalized Immunotherapy for Cancer at Issels®

For decades, Issels® has been creating personalized immunotherapy programs for patients based on their own unique needs. Contact us to learn more about our testing and treatment methods.