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Cancer Research, Cancer Treatment, Immunotherapy for Cancer, Uncategorized

Targeted Cancer Drugs May Protect Fertility in Female Cancer Patients

There is New Hope for Cancer Patients.
There is New Hope for Cancer Patients to Have Children After Treatment

Women of child-bearing age who are undergoing cancer treatment are often vulnerable to infertility. Researchers recently discovered that a certain type of targeted cancer drug may block this unfortunate side effect of chemotherapy.

How Cancer Treatment Affects Fertility

Chemotherapy drugs work by targeting rapidly developing cells and damaging cellular DNA. Oocytes, or immature egg cells, are hypersensitive to DNA damage in order to “retain genomic fidelity.”

In addition, chemotherapy triggers a signaling pathway in the ovaries, resulting in premature maturation of primordial follicles. This process is often referred to as follicular burnout.

Currently there are two primary options for women to preserve their fertility while receiving chemotherapy:

• Goserelin (trade name Zoladex®) and leuprolide (trade name Lupron®) are drugs that temporarily shut down the ovaries.

• Cryopreservation involves harvesting eggs and freezing them for future use or fertilizing them outside the body and freezing the embryos.

Can Targeted Cancer Drugs Help to Preserve Fertility?

mTOR inhibitors have been approved for clinical use as they undergo continued testing for application as targeted cancer drugs. Since mTOR is a vital element in an ovary’s signaling pathway, researchers suspect that blocking the enzyme could protect the reserve of primordial follicles.

During the study, female mice who received chemotherapy only experienced follicular burnout, while those who received mTOR inhibitors as supplements maintained the reserves of primordial follicles. The latter also became pregnant at normal rates, while the former were primarily infertile.

What Is the Issels® Difference?

Immunotherapy boosts the ability of your body’s immune system to target and destroy cancer cells. Contact us for more information about our state-of-the-art, personally-tailored cancer treatment programs.

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.

News, Uncategorized

High Fat Diets Are Linked to Colon Cancer

High Fat Diets Are Linked to Colon Cancer
High Fat Diets Are Linked to Colon Cancer

Doctors regularly warn patients that obesity is linked to an increased risk of cancer. A study by researchers at MIT has shed some light on how high-fat diets can trigger colon cancer.

The Role of Stem Cells in Colon Cancer

Colon cancer arises from mutations that tend to accumulate among intestinal stem cells, which last a lifetime. Omer Yilmaz, an assistant professor of biology at MIT, led a team that set out to discover the process behind these cellular changes.

For nine months to a year, Yilmaz and his team fed healthy mice a diet composed of 60 percent fat. In addition to gaining up to 50 percent more body mass, these mice developed more intestinal tumors than those on a healthy diet.

Effects of High-Fat Diet on Intestinal Cells

Researchers observed significant changes in the intestinal stem cells of the mice:

  • The mice eating a high-fat diet had a higher number of intestinal stem cells. In addition, they were able to operate free of input from niche cells that normally regulate stem cell activity.
  • Progenitor cells, which are differentiated “daughters” of stem cells, began to take on characteristics of stem cells, including longer life span and ability to generate mini-intestines outside the body.

Yilmaz is hopeful that, with further investigation, this information will lead to identifying new methods of cancer treatment for obesity-related tumors.

The Issels® Difference: Non-Toxic, Personally Tailored Cancer Treatment

We use genomic and other specialized testing to make sure our cancer treatment is designed to meet your specific needs. Contact us to learn more about cancer vaccines and other immunotherapy programs at Issels®.

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

The Connection Between Tumors and Blood Vessels

Stop Cancer
Stop Cancer

The medical community has long believed that cancer cells support their growth by generating blood vessels. A recent study suggests that blood vessels may actually begin the cycle of tumor development.

“Hijacking” Blood Vessels for Tumor Development

According to cancer biologist Dr. Lan Ko, one of the authors of the study, the team found evidence that blood vessels can create tumors. In turn, the cancer cells then produce blood vessels to further sustain their growth.

Researchers focused on GT198, a gene generally found in low levels within the body. It has a natural ability to repair DNA and regulate stem cells, but in mutated form it creates cancer cells.

Pericytes, found in the outer layer of blood vessels, resemble stem cells in the way they can form different types of tissue. During the study, researchers found abnormally high levels of GT198 in pericytes supporting a number of human tumors.

Even more surprising was that the GT198 was located in the pericytes’ cytoplasm instead of the nucleus. This enabled malignant pericytes to multiply into cancer cells and detach from blood vessels to promote spread of the tumors.

Application for Cancer Treatment

As Dr. Ko explained, these results indicate that GT198 is a viable target for immunotherapy for cancer treatments. Further testing will explore use of existing cancer drugs and development of new ones.

Issels® Leads the Way in Immunotherapy for Cancer

While immunotherapy for cancer has become a hot topic among scientists, Issels® has been successfully using our integrative, non-toxic treatments for decades. Contact us for more information about cancer vaccines and our other individually tailored 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 Survivors, Cancer Treatment, Uncategorized

What is Recurrent Cancer – What Do I Need to Know?

What Do I Need to Know?
What Do I Need to Know?

Have you ever heard stories about patients undergoing immunotherapy for cancer and experiencing no recurrence? Here’s what you need to know about recurrent cancer and what it means in terms of your overall health.

When Cancer Comes Back

Recurrence refers to cancer that returns after treatment has been completed. It originates with cancer cells that remained after the first course of treatment but were too small to show up in post-treatment testing.

Recurrent cancer is the same form as the original tumor, as opposed to a new type of cancer that may develop in patients who have a history of tumors. The latter is known as second primary cancer.

Types of Recurrent Cancer

Cancer recurs in three different ways:

• Local recurrence is in the same general area as the original tumor.

• Regional recurrence describes cancer that has grown into lymph nodes or other tissues near the original cancer.

• Distant recurrence is when cancer has spread to organs or other tissues far from the original site.

Another term that describes distant recurrence is metastatic cancer. Regardless of where the cancer has spread, it’s still the same type as the original tumor.

Testing and Treatment

Your doctor will likely repeat many of the same tests that resulted in the first diagnosis. These tests provide information to help determine the appropriate course of treatment.

Effective Non-Toxic Immunotherapy for Cancer at Issels®

The personally tailored immunotherapy for cancer treatments at Issels® are designed to boost your own immune system’s ability to recognize and destroy cancer cells. Contact us today to learn how our programs have helped patients achieve long-term remission.