Category Archives: Immunotherapy

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.

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

Why Some Lung Cancers Do Not Respond to Some Types of Immunotherapy Treatment

Why Some Lung Cancers Do Not Respond to Some Types of Immunotherapy Treatment
Why Some Lung Cancers Do Not Respond to Some Types of Immunotherapy Treatment

Despite the drop in smoking rates, lung cancer remains the second most common form of the disease in the United States. Scientists are hopeful that a recent discovery will aid the development of more effective immunotherapy for lung cancer.

A Roadblock in Lung Cancer Treatment

The immune system is the body’s first line of defense against foreign invaders. Immunotherapy is a form of cancer treatment that boosts the ability of the immune system to seek out and destroy cancer cells.

Current immunotherapy for lung cancer includes a drug that shuts down a protein on the surface of tumor cells. The protein, called PD-L1, latches on to T cells and prevents them from attacking.

Unfortunately, many lung cancer patients didn’t respond positively to this treatment. Scientists realized they needed to learn more about the “immune compartment of lung tumors,” which involves the relationship between the cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment.

Scientists Make a Breakthrough

A research team in Switzerland studied mice with a form of lung cancer similar to that in humans. They found that a type of immune cell known as Gr1+ neutrophils actually triggers a cycle in the microenvironment that promotes the growth of tumor cells.

Team leader Prof. Etienne Meylan explained that neutrophils are an essential part of the immune response, so removing them is not the answer. Future research will focus on how the neutrophils operate and how immunotherapy for lung cancer can work around them.

Issels®: The Leader in Effective Immunotherapy

For decades, we have been successful treating patients with immunotherapy for lung cancer and other forms of the disease. Contact us for more information.

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

Issels and the Dendritic Cell Vaccine for Cancer

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It's Time to Cross Out Cancer!
It’s Time to Cross Out Cancer!

For decades, Issels® has been a leader in non-toxic immunotherapy for cancer treatments. The dendritic cell vaccine is one of the most potent weapons in our cancer-fighting arsenal, succeeding in many late-stage patients for whom other treatments had failed.

The Power of Dendritic Cells

Immunotherapy for cancer focuses on boosting the power of the body’s own immune system to fight tumors. Dendritic cells are part of the immune system, serving as advance sentries that recognize the presence of foreign antigens.

Once the dendritic cells process the antigens, they are presented to T cells, another part of the immune system. T cells are effectors that provide a response to stimulus such as bacteria, viruses and other invaders.

Individually, dendritic cells are extremely potent, but the problem is that they’re not usually present in large enough quantities. Dendritic cell vaccines are an effective method of increasing their numbers.

Issels® and the Dendritic Cell Vaccine

In a process called extracorporeal photophoresis, a patient’s blood passes through an ultraviolet light chamber, which provides an immune boosting effect. White blood cells are harvested and cultured into active dendritic cells, then re-injected into the body to trigger an immune response.

Traditional cancer treatments often have side effects because they attack healthy cells along with tumor cells. Dendritic cells can distinguish normal dying cells from cancer cells so the immune system refrains from attacking them.

Personalized Immunotherapy for Cancer at Issels®

Dendritic cell vaccines are only one of the innovative treatments we use for patients with all forms of cancer. Contact us to read and hear testimonials from our many patients who have successfully achieved long-term remission.

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

NIH Embraces Immunotherapy as a Top Cancer Treatment

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NIH Embraces Immunotherapy as a Top Cancer Treatment
NIH Embraces Immunotherapy as a Top Cancer Treatment

The National Institutes of Health has named immunotherapy as a top form of cancer treatment. In the past, chemotherapy and radiation were typically the main types of cancer treatments that the NIH focused on. However, research findings and treatment advances have led to an increase in the demand for immunotherapy for cancer.

Fighting Cancer with the Immune System

Immunotherapy relies on the body’s immune system to seek out and destroy cancer cells before they have a chance to spread. This type of treatment focuses on strengthening natural immune defenses against cancer rather than targeting and destroying cancer with radiation or chemotherapy. This helps protect healthy cells from damage and lowers the risk of nausea and other potentially severe side effects.

Advances in Immunotherapy

Advances in immunotherapy for cancer have led to significant improvements in this type of treatment, which has resulted in a higher number of successes for those with certain types of cancer. Researchers are also doing studies to find out more about immunotherapy in order to provide more and more cancer patients with effective treatment.

Current research has been focusing on why this type of treatment works better for some patients, what other kinds of cancer it can be used for, and how to make it more effective when used in combination with other forms of cancer treatment. These findings should lead to even more successes for immunotherapy.

If you’re interested in learning more about how immunotherapy for cancer works, please contact Issels®. Our cancer treatments are nontoxic and can be effective for certain cancers that are difficult to treat.

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

Treatment Uses Patient’s Own Immune Cells to Fight Cancer

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Treatment Uses Patient's Own Immune Cells to Fight Cancer
Treatment Uses Patient’s Own Immune Cells to Fight Cancer

Scientists are hopeful that a new gene therapy cancer treatment will lead to development of other drugs that utilize the power of a patient’s own immune system. In the meantime, policy makers face the challenges of safety, cost and access.

“Training” the Immune System to Fight Cancer

The therapy in question, called Kymriah, received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August 2017. Novartis developed Kymriah as a cancer treatment for children and young adults with a type of leukemia known as ALL.

Kymriah is a form of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell treatment. A patient’s T cells are genetically reengineered and infused back into the patient’s system to attack and kill cancer cells.

Weighing the Pros and Cons

During clinical trials conducted by Novartis, 63 patients received a one-time infusion of CAR T cells. After three months, 52 of the patients were in remission.

The downside is that 76 percent of the patients experienced a variety of side effects. In order to determine the overall risk vs. reward factor, the FDA has required Novartis to perform a post-marketing study of Kymriah’s safety and effectiveness.

An article published in the October issue of Health Affairs noted that high demand and high cost of CAR T cell therapies could lead to greater inequalities in health outcomes. The authors urged ethics and policy-making to catch up to the science of cancer treatment.

Issels®: A Pioneer in Cancer Immunotherapy

Issels® has long been ahead of the field in successful use of cancer treatment that aids the immune system in targeting tumor cells. Contact us for more information.