Category Archives: Immunotherapy

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

New Research: Computer Modeling and New Drugs to Deactivate Metastasized Breast Cancer in the Brain

Computer Modeling and New Drugs to Deactivate Metastasized Breast Cancer in the Brain
Computer Modeling and New Drugs to Deactivate Metastasized Breast Cancer in the Brain

Bringing a new immuno oncology drug to market is an expensive and time-consuming proposition. A team of researchers is trying to expedite the process, using computer modeling to find a drug that treats metastasized breast cancer.

Can One Drug Fight Two Types of Cancer?

Triple negative breast cancer is the most difficult form to treat. Once the cancer metastasizes to the brain, survival time is generally shorter. Scientists at Houston Methodist analyzed thousands of current drugs in search of one that could prevent metastasis.

The team’s efforts paid off when they hit on edelfosine, a drug which is FDA-approved for investigational leukemia treatment. Edelfosine has also been the subject of clinical research for primary brain tumors.

In a study to test the discovery, mice were injected with triple negative breast cancer stem cells obtained from patients. The cancer cells metastasized to the brain, but treatment with edelfosine prevented the cells from further growth.

A “Game-Changer” in Immuno Oncology

Dr. Stephen T. Wong, one of the study’s authors, referred to the concept of repurposing drug compounds to prevent metastatic brain cancer as a “game-changer.” In past research, Wong and his co-workers have discovered other drugs that are being repurposed in clinical trials.

The study’s co-author, Dr. Hong Zhao, said they hope to move edelfosine to a phase II clinical study within the next few years. In addition, scientists want to investigate use of the compound on other forms of cancer.

Issels®: Successful Treatment of Therapy-Resistant Cancer

Issels® has long been ahead of the curve with non-toxic, individually created immuno oncology treatment programs. Contact us for more information.

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

Coley’s Toxin – the First Immunotherapy?

Coley's Toxin - the First Immunotherapy?
Coley’s Toxin – the First Immunotherapy?

When it comes to cancer treatment, immunotherapy is a hot buzzword right now, but it may not be as new as it seems. Many scientists believe that the first immunotherapy treatments date back to the late 1800s.

Coley’s Toxins: The Original Immunotherapy?

William Coley, a surgeon in turn-of-the-century New York, made a peculiar discovery about one of his patients. Fred Stein, who had been diagnosed with cancer, began making a recovery after contracting a serious infection.

Dr. Coley thought that perhaps bacteria from the infection jump-started Stein’s immune system, causing it to attack the tumors. This experience inspired the doctor to begin treating inoperable cancer patients with bacterial injections that came to be known as Coley’s toxins.

While Coley’s treatments did achieve some success, there was little documentation to support his findings. As a result, the doctor’s peers continued to favor radiation and chemotherapy as cancer treatments of choice.

A Man Ahead of His Time

For all intents and purposes, Dr. Coley’s methods died with him in 1936. Now, more than 80 years later, immunotherapy cancer treatment is “here to stay,” according to Jill O’Donnell-Tormey, chief executive of the Cancer Research Institute.

Immunotherapies known as checkpoint inhibitors are some of the top-selling drugs around the world. Checkpoint inhibitors follow Dr. Coley’s principle of boosting the body’s own immune response.

Dr. Josef M. Issels: A Pioneer of Immunotherapy

We’re proud to carry on the legacy of our founder, Dr. Josef M. Issels, who was also an early proponent of immunotherapy cancer treatment. Contact Issels® for more information about our individually created immunotherapy programs.

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

UCLA Research Shows Chimeric Antigen Receptors May Boost Immune System Response to Fight Cancer

UCLA Research Shows Chimeric Antigen Receptors May Boost Immune System Response to Fight Cancer
UCLA Research Shows Chimeric Antigen Receptors May Boost Immune System Response to Fight Cancer

Tumors have a number of ways to avoid detection and attack by the body’s immune system, making them difficult to eliminate. In a victory for cancer immunotherapy, scientists have created a synthetic protein with the ability to reverse these defenses.

Overcoming Safeguards of Tumor Cells

Most diseased cells carry proteins called antigens that trigger a response from T cells in the immune system, resulting in neutralization of the threat. In contrast, tumor cells secrete immunosuppressive cytokines, and these soluble proteins disable the immune response from T cells.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, which received FDA approval in 2017, has been successfully used to treat blood cancers such as leukemia. Unfortunately, these therapies have not had a similar effect on solid tumors.

Making Cancer Work Against Itself

Building on the principle of CARs and their power to counteract the defenses of cancer cells, a team of scientists at UCLA engineered CARs to respond to soluble proteins along with surface-bound antigens. In effect, cancer’s primary weapon ends up acting as an instrument of its own destruction.

Since these CARs are engineered, it opens up the possibility of using this method to create cancer immunotherapy treatments for other applications. The UCLA team has already engineered CARs that respond to various soluble proteins, including transforming growth factor (TGF) beta.

Cancer Immunotherapy: Boosting the Body’s Own Immune System

Our individually developed immunotherapy programs focus on restoring the body’s immune system and its natural defense mechanisms. These programs are non-toxic, without the adverse side effects that often accompany chemotherapy and other traditional cancer treatments.

Visit our website for more information.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Cancer Treatment, Immunotherapy, Immunotherapy for Cancer, News

“Superblood” Engineered to Carry Cancer Fighting Proteins

"Superblood" Engineered to Carry Cancer Fighting Proteins
“Superblood” Engineered to Carry Cancer Fighting Proteins

Super powers are usually the stuff of comic books and movies, but a biotech startup may be turning fiction into reality with the development of “superblood” as a revolutionary new cancer treatment.

“Supercharging” Red Blood Cells

Rubius Therapeutics is working on a program called Red-Cell Therapeutics (RCT), which involves red blood cells that are genetically engineered to fight cancer. Once introduced into a patient’s system, these proteins can replace missing enzymes and help the immune system attack and destroy cancer cells.

RCT has two major advantages that make it a promising breakthrough in cancer treatment:

– The nuclei have been removed from these cells so they can’t be recognized by the immune system, leaving them free from interference so they can do their job.

– Red blood cells travel throughout the entire body, so RCT is able to easily reach any affected organs or tissues.

Thanks to these two features, RCT has the potential to treat patients without the need for an individually developed solution.

What’s Next?

Initially, Rubius Therapeutics generated $120 million from investors. The company recently raised an additional $100 million for a total of nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in less than one year. According to Rubius president Torben Straight Nissen, this funding will help accelerate RCT development for quicker delivery to the end users.

Issels®: The Leader in Immunotherapy Cancer Treatments

Much like RCT, cancer treatment at Issels® is designed to boost the immune system’s ability to attack and kill cancer cells. Contact us to learn more about cancer vaccines and other programs we have used to help patients achieve long-term remission.

After Cancer, Cancer Survivors, Immunotherapy, Immunotherapy for Cancer, News

An Immunotherapy and Ovarian Cancer Success Story

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An Immunotherapy and Ovarian Cancer Success Story
An Immunotherapy and Ovarian Cancer Success Story

What happens when a patient responds to cancer immunotherapy that, according to advanced medical knowledge, shouldn’t work? Scientists are studying four recent cases where cancer treatment “broke the rules.”

Exceptions to the Rule?

Four women in different countries, who knew each other only through an online support group, were diagnosed with the same rare form of ovarian cancer. Each one persuaded her doctor to use immunotherapy drugs, despite conventional wisdom that the treatment was useless against ovarian cancer.

Against all odds, the patients responded positively, with their tumors going into remission and the women returning to their normal lives. Researchers are hoping to gain insight that will help develop cancer immunotherapy treatments with a broader range of applications.

Why Doctors Were Caught by Surprise

Tumor cells have an ability to deflect attacks from the body’s immune system, allowing them to multiply freely. Immunotherapy is a way of helping the immune system identify and kill cancer cells.

So far immunotherapy has been successful primarily with lung cancer, melanoma and forms with many genetic mutations. By contrast, hypercalcemic ovarian cancer, which is the form that affected the four women, is driven by a single mutation.

The theory is that a lower number of mutations “tricks” the immune system into disregarding the threat posed by cancer cells. Based on the positive results in the women with ovarian cancer, scientists at Johns Hopkins and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center are conducting trials with the aim of further refining cancer immunotherapy.

Comprehensive Cancer Immunotherapy Treatments at Issels®

Our individually created immunotherapy programs are often successful where other conventional treatments have failed. Contact us for more information.

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

Immunotherapy is Changing Cancer Treatment Again in Exciting New Ways

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Immunotherapy is Changing Cancer Treatment Again in Exciting New Ways
Immunotherapy is Changing Cancer Treatment Again in Exciting New Ways

If you think you’ve been hearing the term “immunotherapy” a lot lately, it’s not your imagination. Scientists consider this growing form of cancer treatment to be a game-changer on a par with the polio vaccine and organ transplants.

Researchers Commit to Immunotherapy

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, one of the top-rated health enterprises in the U.S., recently demonstrated their major commitment to immunotherapy research. Earlier this year, they announced plans for a $200 million Immune and Transplant Therapy facility to open in 2020.

UPMC’s newest center will focus on researching treatments to disrupt cancer growth as well as reduce the need for immune-suppressing drugs with transplant patients. Dr. Robert Ferris, director of UPMC’s Hillman Cancer Center, referred to the facility as “swinging for the fences.”

How Immunotherapy Works

Immunotherapy cancer treatments fall into one of two categories:

– Checkpoint modulator drugs trigger the body’s own immune cells to attack and destroy cancer cells.

– Cell therapies, such as the recently approved CAR-T therapy, involve harvesting a patient’s T-cells and programming them to fight cancer cells, at which point they are reinfused back into the patient’s system.

Dr. Sandip Patel of the University of California San Diego called immunotherapy a “paradigm shift” in cancer treatment. According to Patel, when immunotherapy is effective, it can lead to a patient’s cancer going into remission for years.

Issels®: A Pioneer in Immunotherapy Cancer Treatments

Our founder, Dr. Josef M. Issels, predicted the rise of immunotherapy more than 20 years ago. Visit our website to learn more about Issels® and our innovative approach to non-toxic, individually created cancer treatment programs.