Cancer Care Tips, Uncategorized

When Cancer is Whispering, Be Persistent and Get Help with Early Treatment

Worried You May Have Cancer - Get Help!
Worried You May Have Cancer – Get Help!

Do you find yourself ignoring minor but nagging health symptoms, assuming they’re not worth a trip to the doctor’s office? Seeking help during this “whisper stage” can be the key to timely and effective cancer treatment.

When Cancer Acts Like Something Else

When actress Fran Drescher first heard her body’s “whispers,” she didn’t fit the usual profile of uterine cancer patients, so her doctor didn’t even consider an endometrial biopsy. Instead, Drescher was diagnosed with a perimenopausal condition and put on four separate hormone replacement therapies, which nearly proved fatal.

Fortunately, Drescher trusted what her body was telling her. She continued to seek help, and after two years and eight doctors, she finally received the correct diagnosis of uterine cancer.

Putting Good Health First

Drescher’s experience prompted her to form Cancer Schmancer, a charitable organization that educates people about taking a proactive approach toward prevention and early detection of cancer.

Here are some of Drescher’s top tips for taking charge of your health.

– Don’t cut corners on health care. Investing in your health is the best financial decision you’ll ever make.

– Listen to your body when it begins “whispering.’ Even if it turns out to be nothing, your peace of mind is worth a doctor appointment.

– Educate yourself. The digital revolution has put unprecedented amounts of information at your fingertips.

– Be assertive. If your symptoms don’t improve, or you feel you’re not being taken seriously, don’t be afraid to seek second and third opinions.

Cancer Treatment Designed Just for You

At Issels®, our comprehensive immunotherapy programs are created with each patient’s specific needs in mind. Contact us for more information.

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

Autoimmune Disease May Hold a Key for More Effective Immunotherapy Treatments

Research is Under Way to Cross Out Cancer
Research is Under Way to Cross Out Cancer

Thanks to their ability to avoid detection by the immune system, cancer cells are able to rapidly reproduce and spread. In a major breakthrough, scientists have discovered that a gene associated with hair loss could provide valuable clues to improve immunotherapy for cancer.

Autoimmune Disease: The Other Side of the Coin

Ironically, a research team at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) turned to the autoimmune disease alopecia areata as the topic of their recent study, published last June in Cell Systems. While cancer is marked by failure of the immune system, alopecia represents the opposite situation, an immune system in overdrive.

Alopecia results in immune cells attacking and destroying healthy hair cells. During previous research, the CUIMC team isolated a gene called IKZF1 that causes overproduction of T cells in the immune system.

“Flipping the Switch” on the Immune System

In the latest study, the scientists demonstrated that IKZF1 is turned off in many cancer cells. The team then set out to test their theory that activating IKZF1 would trigger T cells to begin attacking tumors.

The study broke down into two parts:

– When a mouse model of melanoma was engineered to express IKZF1, the corresponding tumors revealed increased levels of immune cells.

– Analysis of data from a previous study of melanoma patients showed higher recurrence in those with disabled IKZF1.

Immunotherapy for Cancer: A Personalized Treatment

Immunotherapy for cancer programs at Issels® are focused on boosting your body’s own immune system, so they’re not accompanied by the side effects that frequently accompany conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation.

Visit our website for more information.

Cancer Research, News, Uncategorized

New Understanding on How Cancer Cells Provide for Tumor Growth and Metastasis

New Understanding on How Cancer Cells Provide for Tumor Growth and Metastasis
New Understanding on How Cancer Cells Provide for Tumor Growth and Metastasis

At Issels®, our immunotherapy for cancer treatments have helped patients with metastatic tumors achieve long-term remission. A recent discovery by scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison holds promise for developing a means to prevent the spread of cancer.

Exosomes: The Allies of Cancer Cells

Immunotherapy is aimed at helping the body’s immune system circumvent ways in which cancer cells avoid detection. One such method involves exosomes, which are protein-packed bags of fluid released by cancer cells.

Exosomes are powerful enough to affect the environment of cancer cells and divert the immune system, allowing cancer to spread to other areas in a process known as metastasis. The team at UW-Madison identified a protein called Munc13-4 that controls the release of exosomes.

Stopping the Spread of Cancer

According to the study, published in Journal of Cell Biology, Munc13-4 activates once it binds with calcium, which is frequently found at elevated levels in tumor cells. While calcium triggers exosome secretion in breast cancer, once the scientists removed Munc13-4. the secretion was halted.

The exosomes in the breast cancer cells contained an enzyme called MT1-MMP which breaks down the extracellular matrix, creating an environment that encourages the spread of cancer. Prof. Thomas F. J. Martin, senior author of the study, explained that by targeting Munc13-4, immunotherapy for cancer treatments could potentially prevent metastasis.

How Issels® Fights Advanced and Therapy-Resistant Tumors

Immunotherapy for cancer has been in the spotlight recently, but our successful use of these personally developed programs dates back to the work of our founder, Dr. Josef M. Issels. Contact us to learn more about cancer vaccines and other integrated treatments.

Cancer Research, News, Uncategorized

Saliva Test May Identify Prostate Cancer High Risk Populations

Saliva Test May Identify Prostate Cancer High Risk Populations
Saliva Test May Identify Prostate Cancer High Risk Populations

As immunotherapy for cancer moves closer to becoming a viable treatment for prostate cancer, scientists continue to seek methods of early detection. Increased use of saliva-based DNA tests prompted a research team to investigate a similar test that identifies men at high risk to develop the disease.

DNA Profiling through Saliva

Now that scientists can extract DNA from white cells called leukocytes, a simple saliva test can provide information about your genetic makeup. This method has given rise to a booming business in commercially available tests that reveal information about people’s genealogical backgrounds.

This past June, a research team at the Institute of Cancer Research in London began a clinical trial of a similar test to determine risk of developing prostate cancer. The disease is currently the most frequently diagnosed form of cancer affecting European men.

When Prostate Cancer Is in the Genes

The trial comes on the heels of a study that identified 63 new genetic variations that increase the risk of prostate cancer. In addition to these variations, the saliva test includes more than 100 others already known to scientists.

On this side of the ocean, another clinical trial of the saliva test is underway at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. According to Dr. Heather Cheng, director of the Alliance’s Prostate Cancer Genetics Clinic, a saliva test could be used in conjunction with existing PSA blood testing to obtain more accurate information.

Immunotherapy for Cancer: Personalized Solutions

Every patient’s case is unique. Genetic testing is one of the tools we use to create individual immunotherapy for cancer programs that focus on specific needs. Contact us for more information.

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

Genetic Testing Identifies Best Immunotherapy Prospects for Prostate Cancer Patients

New Treatments for Prostate Cancer
New Treatments for Prostate Cancer

While immunotherapy has proven to be a viable form of cancer treatment, not all patients respond to the currently available methods. A major breakthrough occurred this summer, when scientists found that genetic testing could identify prostate cancer patients who are likely candidates for immunotherapy.

Treating Prostate Cancer with Immunotherapy

Last June, a major clinical trial provided the first evidence that advanced prostate cancer could be successfully treated with an immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab. Approximately ten percent of patients responded, so the question became how to determine which patients to treat.

A possible answer came in the form of a study recently published in Cell. Scientists from London’s Institute of Cancer Research and the University of Michigan joined forces to analyze tumor DNA collected from 360 men with advanced prostate cancer in various countries.

Is Genetic Testing the Solution?

Results indicated that seven percent of the tumors lacked a gene called CDK12. This feature is a hallmark of a unique genetic pattern that contains a greater amount of immune cells than other types of advanced prostate cancer.

In addition, these tumors had more neoantigens, which are proteins that alert the immune system to the presence of cancer cells. Thanks to the higher numbers of immune cells and neoantigens, the immune system already begins to recognize the tumor, which is why scientists think such tumors are more receptive to immunotherapy.

Cancer Treatment for Therapy-Resistant Tumors

Issels® uses genetic testing to individually develop cancer treatment programs that are best suited to a patient’s specific needs. Visit our website to learn how we have been successfully using integrative immunotherapy methods to treat advanced cancer.

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

Lung Cancer Numbers Rise in Female Non-Smoking Populations

Cancer Rising in Female Non-Smokers
Cancer is Rising in Female Non-Smokers

As the most common form of the disease worldwide, lung cancer is a primary target of immunotherapy for cancer research and testing. Unfortunately, scientists are alarmed at the rising incidence of lung cancer in women and non-smokers.

Non-Smokers Are Not Immune to Lung Cancer

The link between tobacco and lung cancer is well-known, leaving many people to mistakenly believe that only smokers will develop the disease. The facts are that approximately 15 percent of lung cancer cases are non-tobacco-related.

This anomaly is especially pronounced among women. Studies show that 20 percent of women who are diagnosed with lung cancer are lifelong non-smokers, compared to only 10 percent of men. Data from the U.K. reveals that, among patients undergoing lung cancer surgery over a six-year period, women made up 67 percent of the group that had never smoked.

Lung Cancer and the Gender Gap

In another dubious distinction, lung cancer rates in women have risen over the last 20 years, even as they’ve fallen in men. Researchers attribute this development to two possible causes:

– There is some evidence that women’s DNA is more vulnerable to damage caused by carcinogens contained in tobacco.

– At one time, smoking among women was relatively rare. Gains in gender equality appear to have resulted in more women taking up the habit.

Scientists urge anyone who experiences symptoms such as unexplained coughing, chest pains and shortness of breath to see their doctor, even if they’ve never smoked.

Immunotherapy for Cancer: When Other Treatments Have Failed

Our personalized immunotherapy for cancer programs have helped patients with both primary lung cancer and lung metastases. Contact us for more information.

Individualized Cancer Treatment