Tag Archives: Advances In Cancer Treatment

Cancer Research, Cancer Treatment, News, Uncategorized

Testosterone Treatment May Prevent Loss of Body Mass and Muscle Atrophy During Cancer Treatment

Testosterone Treatment May Prevent Loss of Body Mass and Muscle Atrophy During Cancer Treatment
Testosterone Treatment May Prevent Loss of Body Mass and Muscle Atrophy During Cancer Treatment

Testosterone is a naturally produced hormone associated with maintenance of muscle mass and strength. Scientists are now studying the potential of using testosterone to combat muscle atrophy that may occur during immunotherapy for cancer and other treatments.

Cachexia: A Major Side Effect of Cancer

About half of all cancer patients experience a condition known as cachexia. Characterized by loss of body mass, weakness and fatigue, cachexia is serious enough to be instrumental in 22 percent of cancer deaths.

One of the problems is that scientists have little information about the causes of cachexia. As a result, there are almost no options to manage this condition in cancer patients. Nutritional treatments can lessen fatigue, but can’t counteract muscle loss.

Can Hormone Therapy Fight Muscle Loss and Fatigue?

Armed with the knowledge that testosterone builds muscle in healthy people, a research team at the University of Texas in Galveston set out to see if the same would hold true with cancer patients. The trial group included individuals diagnosed with a form of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma.

While undergoing chemotherapy, radiation or both, patients received a seven-week course of either testosterone or a placebo. Testosterone recipients maintained total body mass while increasing lean body mass by 3.2 percent.

The team’s next step is to analyze muscle proteins and determine how cancer affects them. Their eventual goal is to prevent cachexia from affecting cancer patients’ quality of life.

Issels®: The Leader in Immunotherapy for Cancer

At Issels®, our non-toxic immunotherapy for cancer programs don’t carry the risk of side effects found in traditional treatments. Visit our website for more information.

Cancer Research, Immunotherapy for Cancer, Uncategorized

Neoantigens , Dendritic Cells, and T Cells Target the Attack on Cancer

Knowing What Every Vocab Word Related to Cancer Is Important.
Knowing What Every Vocab Word Related to Cancer Is Important.

Immunotherapy cancer treatment continues to be a focus for scientists, who are excited about the number of possibilities it holds for patients. A Harvard-based research team recently conducted a study showing how neoantigens can be used to personalize treatment methods.

Neoantigens and the Immune Response

Neoantigens are tumor-specific mutated peptides that the diseased cells present on their surface. These neoantigens stimulate an immune system response by activating dendritic cells (DCs), which in turn initiate an attack on the tumor by T cells.

The challenge became how to integrate different peptides into a form that was readily acceptable to the immune system. David Mooney and his team at Harvard set out to solve the problem with the use of a vaccine delivery system.

The vaccine created by the researchers features tiny mesoporous silica rods (MSRs) coated with polyethyleneimine (PEI), which is a polymer that delivers material to cells. Once the vaccine is injected under the skin, the MSRs spontaneously form a 3-D scaffold to attract and stimulate DCs.

Fighting Recurrence of Tumors

When tested on mice, not only did the vaccine activate anti-tumor responses, it created an immune-specific memory that continued to reject tumor cells for at least six months. According to Mooney, the scaffold structure will allow for greater personalization of cancer treatment as doctors are increasingly able to predict the neoantigens present in individual tumors.

Cancer Treatments Designed for Each Patient

Issels® has long been in the forefront of using personally tailored cancer treatment, including dendritic cell vaccines, to meet a patient’s specific needs. Contact us for more information about our non-toxic, integrative treatment programs.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Uncategorized

Will CRISPR Gene Editing Play a New Role in Cancer Treatment?

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

As science makes connections between DNA mutations and cancer, gene-targeted therapies have become a valuable way to make cancer treatment more effective. Now researchers are pondering how advanced genome editing technology might impact the future of cancer research and treatment.

Solving the Puzzle of DNA

All biological lifeforms are composed of three primary substances. DNA, the building block of genes, uses RNA as a messenger to control proteins, which are the cellular “worker bees.” RNA and proteins can be targeted with drugs, medicines and other treatments, but DNA is more complicated.

CRISPR is a process that lets scientists actually manipulate and make changes to genetic material in cells. In theory, CRISPR could be used to “edit” diseases such as cancer right out of patients.

Can Genetic Editing Improve Cancer Treatment?

Finding the precise genes that drive cancer development can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. With the help of CRISPR, researchers can replace normal genes with cancer-causing ones to get a better picture of how the mutations work and thereby create more effective treatment solutions.

According to Dr. Irene Chong, a clinical scientist at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, the precision of CRISPR holds possible ramifications for future cancer treatment. Doctors may eventually be able to target and correct genetic mutations that cause a predisposition to cancer.

Gene-Targeted Therapies at Issels®

Issels® has long been a leader in the use of gene-targeted therapies that reduce the risk to healthy cells often found in traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy. Contact us for more information about cancer vaccines, NK cells and other state-of-the-art treatments at Issels®.

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

Molecularly Targeted Therapy Emerges As Another Possible Cancer Treatment

Molecularly Targeted Therapy Emerges As Another Possible Cancer Treatment
Molecularly Targeted Therapy Emerges As Another Possible Cancer Treatment

The problem with traditional cancer treatments is that they attack healthy cells along with diseased cells, which results in serious side effects such as fatigue and hair loss. Doctors are encouraged by the success of a new cancer treatment that zeroes in on the cancer cells.

The “Next Revolution in Cancer Therapy”

Molecularly targeted therapy is being hailed as the next big step in cancer treatment. These new drugs are designed at the molecular level to attack the diseased cells of a specific type of cancer. In addition, they can identify specific molecules that are part of specific cancers.

The drugs are created by a process that is the reverse of how most cancer drugs are developed. Scientists identify an abnormal molecule that’s unique to a particular type of cancer, then design a drug that shuts down its activity.

Gleevec: Paving the Way

Novartis Pharmaceuticals has developed Gleevec, also known as STI571, which is leading the way for molecularly targeted therapy. Gleevec is used for chronic myeloid leukemia, or CML, which is a rare form of the disease characterized by excessive production of white blood cells.

Researchers discovered that Gleevec is also effective against GIST, a rare gastrointestinal cancer. GIST features a unique enzyme related to the original target enzyme in CML.

State-of-the-Art Cancer Treatment at Issels®

Gene-targeted therapies, including Gleevec, Tamoxifen and Avastin, are a significant part of our personalized treatment programs. Issels® also uses non-toxic immunotherapy treatments that boost the immune system’s ability to target tumor cells.

Contact us today for more information about our decades of success in helping patients achieve long-term remission.

Cancer Treatment, Immunotherapy, Living with Cancer, Uncategorized

Cancer News: Cancer Can Metastasize Without Involvement of the Lymph System

Metastatic cancer, where tumors spread from the original site to other parts of the body, presents a significant challenge for cancer treatment. Current research is causing scientists to rethink the conventional model of metastasis.

The Role of Lymph Nodes in Cancer Metastasis

A team of researchers led by Dr. Rakesh Jain of Massachusetts General Hospital studied 213 tissue samples from 17 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The focus was on relationships between cells from the primary tumor, lymph nodes and remote sites of metastasis.

The scientists were surprised to discover that only 35 percent of the patients presented the traditional path of cancer moving via lymph nodes to more distant sites. In these cases, cancer cells from both metastases matched cell types in the original tumor.

In the other 65 percent of patients, both metastases matched different cells within the primary tumor, indicating separate origins. These results demonstrate that cancer may metastasize without involvement of lymph nodes, contradicting previously-held beliefs.

Applications for Future Cancer Treatment

According to Dr. Jain, lymph node metastases were generally considered forerunners of more distant metastases. Scientists were therefore puzzled why complete surgical removal of lymph nodes didn’t always improve survival rates.

Dr. Jain went on to explain that the typing assay his team developed can be a valuable way to analyze cancer’s path in certain patients. The information can then be used for better clinical management of metastatic cancer treatment.

Individualized Treatment for Patients at All Stages of Cancer

Issels® has an impressive track record of successfully treating cancer patients at all stages, including stage IV or metastatic cancer. Contact us for more information.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Treatment, Immunotherapy, News, Uncategorized

Gold Nano Particles May Boost Lung Cancer Treatment

Gold Nano-particles Can be Introduced into the Bloodstream to Help Fight Cancer.
Gold Nano-particles Can be Introduced into the Bloodstream to Help Fight Cancer.

Gold may have a value that goes well beyond financial gain. Researchers have discovered that the shiny element can enhance the effectiveness of drugs used to treat lung cancer.

Cancer Treatment as Good as Gold

Testing was conducted at the University of Edinburgh, where Scientists took nanoparticles, which are microscopic particles of gold, and encased them in a chemical device. The object was then used on zebrafish to successfully accelerate their chemical reactions.

Dr. Asier Unciti-Broceta from Cancer Research U.K.’s Edinburgh center participated in the study. He explained that the team’s goal was to find a way to reduce side effects of current chemotherapy methods.

Lessening the Side Effects of Traditional Cancer Treatment

Side effects of cancer treatment are usually the result of drugs attacking healthy cells as well as diseased ones. According to Dr. Unciti-Broceta, their findings indicate that gold could possibly be used to safely release drugs inside tumors.

Immunotherapy for cancer is effective because it helps the immune system’s ability to target cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue. Researchers are continuing tests with nanoparticles in the hopes of applying a similar method with humans.

Dr. Aine McCarthy, also of Cancer Research U.K., expressed optimism that incorporating gold in immunotherapy for cancer could improve the outlook for hard-to-treat cancers such as brain tumors.

Issels®: The Gold Standard of Immunotherapy for Cancer

Our integrative cancer treatment programs are personally tailored for each patient to include methods that complement each other for maximum effectiveness. Contact us today to learn more about our distinguished history of treating patients with all forms of cancer.