Category Archives: Immunotherapy for Cancer

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Immunotherapy for Cancer, Uncategorized

Immunotherapy Makes a Terminal Diagnosis Become Years Not Months

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Extending Your Life After Cancer May Now Be Attainable.
Extending Your Life After Cancer May Now Be Attainable.

At one time, a diagnosis of terminal cancer left little hope. Today, astounding developments in cancer treatment have created a segment of “super survivors” who live long past their terminal diagnosis.

Living with “Terminal” Cancer?

Canadian teacher Anne-Marie Cerato is a prime example of the new super survivors. Eight years ago, at the age of 32, non-smoker Cerato underwent treatment for lung cancer. Two years later, doctors found that the cancer had spread to Cerato’s other lung and she was diagnosed as terminal.

Cerato decided to quit her job and spend her remaining months traveling the world. Amazingly, months stretched into years, and Cerato has not only married but is considering a return to teaching.

The key to Cerato’s survival has been two pills a day of a drug called lorlatinib, which she takes as part of a clinical trial. Cerato’s tumors carry a rare gene reassignment, making her cancer the type that lorlatinib is designed to treat.

New Cancer Treatment Provides Hope

According to Dr. Mark Doherty, an oncologist in Toronto, clinical trials of lung cancer immunotherapy treatments have resulted in 20 percent of patients surviving the five-year point. Doherty pointed out that this response was “unheard of” with previous chemotherapy drugs.

These patients are not considered cured. Rather, their diagnosis changes from a terminal illness to a chronic but treatable disease. Doctors follow up with regular scans to make sure the cancer has not progressed.

State-of-the-Art Immunotherapy from Issels®

Our founder, Dr. Josef Issels, was ahead of his time in developing non-toxic, personally tailored immunotherapy cancer treatments. Contact us to learn how we are carrying on his legacy.

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

Monumental Advances in the Treatment of Bladder Cancer

There is New Hope for Bladder Cancer Treatment
There is New Hope for Bladder Cancer Treatment

When it comes to immunotherapy cancer treatment, checkpoint inhibitors have been a major game-changer. 2017 alone saw five approvals for checkpoint inhibitors that greatly advanced treatment for bladder cancer.

Bladder Cancer Treatment: The Year in Review

During the Society of Urologic Oncology’s annual meeting in late 2017, speaker Elizabeth Plimack, M.D., recapped the year’s highlights in bladder cancer treatments.

– The good news began in February, with the approval of Opdivo for second-line treatment of bladder cancer as a follow-up to platinum-containing therapy.

– After approval in 2016 as a second-line treatment, Tecentriq was granted approval as a front-line treatment in April 2017.

– May 2017 brought about approvals for three more treatments: Imfinzi, Bavencio and Keytruda.

As Plimack stated during her presentation, these approvals demonstrate that checkpoint inhibitors are “here to stay.”

What Lies Ahead?

One area that needs more research is how to be more accurate in choosing patients who will be most receptive to these treatments. Other features that require further studies include duration of response, delayed toxicities and overcoming resistance.

Plimack’s comments included cautioning against extrapolating the data to patients who are eligible for cisplatin, which is a form of chemotherapy. As Plimack explained, more trials are needed before checkpoint inhibitors are approved to replace cisplatin as first-line treatments.

Issels®: Immunotherapy Treatment for Advanced Cancers

We have a successful track record of providing cancer treatment that helps patients achieve long-term remission, even in advanced and therapy-resistant cases. Visit our website to hear and read testimonials from patients of all ages with various forms of cancer who have been treated at Issels®.

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

Cancer Therapies at the Molecular Level in Intracellular Proteins

Cancer Therapies at the Molecular Level in Intracellular Proteins
Cancer Therapies at the Molecular Level in Intracellular Proteins

As scientists work to refine immunotherapy cancer treatment, they also look for ways to determine which patients are most likely to respond. According to a recent study, one of the answers may lie within a patient’s genetics.

HLA Molecules and Intracellular Proteins

T-cells are a type of white blood cell that’s part of the immune system. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules help direct T-cells towards cancer cells by binding peptides from intracellular proteins, including those found on tumor cells.

Some immunotherapy treatments that have been successful in fighting metastatic cancers focus on promoting activity of HLA-1 molecules. A research team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center genotyped more than 1,500 advanced cancer patients to determine if HLA variants had an effect on post-treatment survival.

Do HLA Variants Affect Cancer Treatment?

Since HLA-1 molecules come in a number of different forms with several variants, the researchers speculated that those variations would influence the patients’ responses to treatment. As expected, patients with greater diversity in HLA-1 molecules had a corresponding increase in survival rates.

The study also considered the correlation between somatic mutations within a cancer genome and HLA-1 variations. A higher tumor mutation burden in combination with more diverse HLA-1 molecules was linked to higher survival rates as well.

Gene-Targeted Cancer Treatment at Issels®

Advanced gene-targeted therapies are just one of the treatments available for our comprehensive and individually tailored programs. Non-toxic gene-targeted therapies attack only cancerous cells, making them less harmful to healthy tissues.

Contact us to learn more about cancer vaccines, NK cells and other treatment programs offered at Issels®.

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

Adoptive Cell Transfer a Natural Immunotherapy for Cancer

Adoptive Cell Transfer a Natural Immunotherapy for Cancer
Adoptive Cell Transfer a Natural Immunotherapy for Cancer09

Scientists are excited about immunotherapy for cancer because it supplements a patient’s own natural defenses of the immune system. Thanks to a recent study, researchers have made a discovery that could lead to more effective immunotherapy treatments.

What Is Adoptive Cell Transfer?

Adoptive cell transfer, one of the primary forms of immunotherapy for cancer, involves extracting a patient’s T-cells, which are a form of white blood cells that attack foreign invaders in the system. After engineering the T-cells to target the specific proteins in cancer cells, they are injected back into the patient.

While adoptive cell transfer has been successful in treating blood and bone marrow cancers, it’s been less effective with solid tumors. A team from The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California, San Diego set out to find a better way to program the T-cells.

Unleashing the Power of T-Cells

The researchers zeroed in on a protein known as Runx3, which appeared to specifically direct T-cells to solid tumors. During testing on animal models, it was found that overexpression of Runx3 led to delayed tumor growth and longer life.

Matthew Pipkin of Scripps said that Runx3 works on chromosomes within T-cells, enabling them to focus on killing tumor cells. Pipkin was hopeful that their discovery would pave the way for improving the effectiveness of adoptive cell transfer on solid tumors.

Issels®: The Leader in Immunotherapy for Cancer

Our proprietary immunobiologic core protocols are specifically designed to meet each patient’s individual needs. Contact us to learn more about our record of helping patients achieve and sustain long-term remission.

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

Gene Therapies for Two Blood Cancers Become a Reality

State of the Art Research on Blood Cancers Is Under Way
State of the Art Research on Blood Cancers Is Under Way

2017 was a breakthrough year for cancer treatment. For the first time ever, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two gene therapies for blood cancers that have failed to respond to traditional forms of treatment.

Helping a Patient’s Own Body Fight Cancer

The new treatments are known as CAR-T cell immunotherapy. What’s exciting about these therapies is that they enhance the power of a patient’s own immune system to seek out and kill cancer cells.

T cells are immune system cells responsible for attacking foreign substances in the body. First, a doctor extracts T cells from a patient’s blood sample. The cells are then genetically modified to produce artificial proteins.

These proteins are called chimeric antigen receptors, or CAR, and they have the ability to recognize cancer cells in a patient. Once the modified T cells have been replicated, they’re reintroduced to the patient’s system to find and destroy cancer cells.

An “Explosion of Interest”

Kymriah, manufactured by Novartis, was approved for use with ALL, a form of leukemia that affects children and young adults. Gilead Sciences produces the other gene therapy, called Yescarta, which is used with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

According to Dario Campano, an immunologist involved in the development of Kymriah, the approval of these therapies triggered an “explosion of interest.” Campano expects continued research to lead to greater advancements in the technology.

Immunotherapy Cancer Treatment at Issels®

Issels® has long been a leader in the use of non-toxic, personally tailored cancer treatment programs that harness the power of a patient’s immune system. Contact us to learn more about cancer vaccines and other treatments available at Issels®.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Cancer Treatment, Cancer Vaccine, Immunotherapy for Cancer, Uncategorized

NIH Considers Cancer Research on Genomics Critical

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New Research Is Unlocking the Mystery of Cancer
New Research Is Unlocking the Mystery of Cancer

As scientists learn more about how cancer cells operate, they use that knowledge to formulate more effective methods of cancer immunotherapy. For this reason, the National Institute of Health (NIH) considers genomics research to be a critical tool in the fight against cancer.

Why Genomics Research?

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is the arm of the NIH devoted to cancer research and training. In 2012, the NCI founded the Center for Cancer Genomics (CCG) for the purpose of studying the role of altered genes in the development of cancer.

Cancer results from abnormal cell growth within the body. Genomics research helps scientists understand more about these abnormalities and how they drive cancer development, leading to more precise methods of diagnosis and treatment.

Benefits of Cancer Genomics Research

One example of the success of genomic research is the development of vemurafenib (trade name Zelboraf®), which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2011. Vemurafenib is a cancer treatment that targets a form of melanoma arising from a specific mutation in the BRAF gene.

As researchers survey and catalog the results of various projects over the years, they have uncovered genetic similarities between seemingly disparate forms of cancer. For instance, mutations in the HER2 gene have been revealed in breast, bladder, pancreatic and ovarian cancers.

Cancer Immunotherapy at Issels®

Genomic diagnostics are an important part of the Issels® comprehensive immunobiologic core treatment. These tests are invaluable in providing essential information to help us identify causes of the disease and develop personalized cancer immunotherapy programs.

Contact us to learn more about cancer vaccines and other treatments at Issels®.