Tag Archives: Alternative Cancer Therapies

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

New Swedish Study Shows Selenium-containing Enzyme May Combat Cancer

New Swedish Study Shows Selenium-containing Enzyme May Combat Cancer
New Swedish Study Shows Selenium-containing Enzyme May Combat Cancer

One of the challenges of cancer treatment research is distinguishing between effects on healthy cells and tumor cells. Scientists in Sweden have been focusing on inhibiting a chemical that is beneficial to human health but also promotes the growth of cancer.

The Connection Between Selenium Intake and Cancer

Selenium is a chemical element with a Recommended Dietary Allowance determined by the Food and Drug Administration. An enzyme known as TrxR1 contains selenium, which supports cell growth and protects them from oxidative stress. Raised levels of TrxR1 are also associated with occurrences of cancer, although the causes are not yet understood.

While TrxR1 inhibitors are available, a research team at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden analyzed nearly 400,000 molecules looking for new and more specific versions. Their search turned up three molecules, which the scientists used to treat more than 60 types of cancer cells under laboratory conditions.

Treating Cancer While Sparing Healthy Cells

Healthy cells proved to be far less vulnerable to the TrxR1 inhibitors. Team leader Professor Elias Arner explained that the difference may be caused by cancer cells having a greater vulnerability to oxidative stress than normal cells.

Cisplatin, melfalan and some of the other cancer drugs currently in use contain TrxR1 inhibitors, although not the ones that were the focus of this study. It’s unclear whether the TrxR1 inhibition factor plays a role in the effectiveness of the drugs, but researchers will continue investigating these new molecules as cancer treatments.

Cancer Treatment Designed for Your Needs

Issels® has a successful history of creating individual cancer treatment programs addressing a patient’s particular needs. Contact us for more information.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Cancer Treatment, News, Uncategorized

New Possible Cervical Cancer Treatments Focus on Cancer’s Energy Supply

New Possible Cervical Cancer Treatments Focus on Cancer's Energy Supply
New Possible Cervical Cancer Treatments Focus on Cancer’s Energy Supply

A new potential cervical cancer treatment is making waves. After decades of the same, largely unchanged treatment protocol, there may be a new hope on the horizon. A study conducted on mice by the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has uncovered that cervical tumors that don’t respond to radiation are vulnerable to therapies that cut off cancer’s energy supply at the source.

Turning Cervical Cancer ‘Off’
The mice used in the study, implanted with human cervical cancer cells, provided some interesting data. When treated with a combination of radiation and 3 drugs designed to slow tumor metabolism, cancer’s ability to burn glucose and protect itself was shut down, thwarting cancer cell survival attempts.

The Sugar-Zapping Theory
Cancer cells take up glucose in larger amounts than normal tissues. Researchers in the study observed that tumors resisting treatment were those that took up a large deal of glucose prior to radiation therapy. On the hypothesis that sugar strengthens tumor resistance, they decided to delve closer into what would happen if that sugar uptake was inhibited.

Shocking Potential
With glucose eliminated as a food source, cancer cells must scavenge for sustenance. In typical treatment modalities, cancer will rally by hitting the cells’ metabolic pathways in two more ways simultaneously, making tumors vulnerable to their own self-created toxic stew.

Free radical toxicity escalates, eventually devastating the cancer cells. As healthy cells don’t rely on this fuel production pathway, no obvious negative side-effects were revealed. Future studies will explore this cancer treatment’s potential in HPV-induced cervical cancer.

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

NCI Studies Disparities in Cancer Treatment in Rural Communities

If You and Your Family Does Choose to Live Out in the Country, Make Sure You Live Close to a Location with Good Healthcare Providers.
If You and Your Family Does Choose to Live Out in the Country, Make Sure You Live Close to a Location with Good Healthcare Providers.

Does where you live affect your chances of surviving cancer? Recent studies are putting a focus on the disparities of cancer treatment between rural and urban communities.

Equal Access to Health Care?

Overall, cancer death rates in the United States have declined over the last 40 years. Unfortunately, two studies from the National Cancer Institute and Centers for Disease Control have revealed that cancer death rates are higher in rural areas and declining at a much slower pace.

NCI has a history of promoting cancer control in Appalachia, with efforts directed at prevention and early detection. Issues surrounding last year’s presidential election have further raised the visibility of questions about access to quality health care.

As research methods and tools become more sophisticated, scientists have the advantage of more granular data. This allows for more detailed plotting of disease patterns and trends as they apply to specific geographic regions.

Healthcare Organizations Rise to the Challenge

Growing acknowledgement of the problem is also raising the sense of urgency. Researchers at the University of Washington found that differences in life expectancy by county are large and growing even larger.

NCI, along with federal agencies such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, are joining forces to collaborate on research and implementation. The next big step is a May 2018 meeting that NCI is convening among major organizations in the cancer community.

Issels®: Accessible and High-Quality Cancer Treatment

Our integrative immunotherapy programs incorporate multiple elements to create the best possible treatment for your particular diagnosis. Contact us for more information about cancer vaccines, NK cells and other non-toxic treatment methods.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Treatment, Living with Cancer

Tips for Lowering Your Stress Levels While in Cancer Treatment

Taking a Deep Breath and Seeking Help Can Really Help Take Stress Down a Notch.
Taking a Deep Breath and Seeking Help Can Really Help Take Stress Down a Notch.

If you have been diagnosed with cancer, stress relief is more important than ever for your quality of life. A recent study found that relaxation techniques such as yoga and meditation actually produce molecular changes that counteract depression.

The Immune System in Overdrive

When stress triggers the familiar “fight-or-flight” reaction, it also boosts production of a molecule called NF-kB. This molecule in turn stimulates genes to produce cytokines, which are proteins that cause inflammation as part of the immune system response.

In the short term, this process is helpful in battling infections and other common ailments. Problems arise when the pro-inflammatory gene expression is chronic, leading to higher cancer risk along with accelerated aging and mental disorders such as depression.

Exploring the Mind-Body Connection

The study from the Universities of Coventry and Radboud, published in Frontiers in Immunology, examined gene behavior in 846 participants over a span of 11 years. Principle focus was the effect of mind-body interventions (MBIs) such as yoga, tai chi and meditation.

Results showed that regular practice of MBIs caused reduced production of NF-kB and cytokines. This decrease reversed the pro-inflammatory gene expression pattern, with a corresponding reduction in the risk of inflammation-related conditions.

According to lead researcher Ivana Buric, the process leaves a “molecular signature” that reverses the effects of stress and anxiety. MBIs can change the genetic code to follow a path toward health and well-being.

Immunotherapy for Cancer: A Personalized Approach

No two cases of cancer are the same. Contact us to learn how Issels® uses individually developed immunotherapy for cancer programs to help patients of all ages and all forms of cancer.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Immunotherapy, Immunotherapy for Cancer

Rare Cancers Still Plague Vietnam Veterans

Get The Treatment You Need
Get The Treatment You Need

More than 40 years after the end of the Vietnam War, the conflict continues to have both physical and emotional effects on those who served. Several vets are fighting a rare form of cancer that stems from food they ingested overseas.

When Food Becomes Deadly

Residents of Vietnam and other parts of Asia have long known about the dangers of eating raw or poorly cooked river fish. It often holds parasites known as liver flukes that latch onto the lining of the bile duct, causing inflammation and scarring over time.

Decades later, the afflicted patient can develop a rare cancer called cholangiocarcinoma. Sadly, the symptoms usually don’t present themselves until the later stages after the tumor has advanced.

Vietnam Vets Struggle for Assistance

According to Ralph Erickson, head of post-deployment health services for the Department of Veteran Affairs, roughly 700 cholangiocarcinoma patients have gone through the agency’s medical system. However, less than half of them submitted claims because it never occurred to them that the cancer was linked to their military service.

Michael Baughman, a 64-year-old veteran from Danville, VA, is one of the patients who was diagnosed with bile duct cancer. He acknowledged the bitter irony that he survived combat but is likely to die due to eating a fish.

Immunotherapy for Cancer Offers Hope to Many Patients

Today immunotherapy for cancer is regarded as the most advanced of current treatments. Our individually tailored non-toxic protocols may be used alone or in conjunction with more traditional methods. Contact us to learn why Issels® is the leader in state-of-the-art immunotherapy for cancer.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Survivors, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy, Living with Cancer

Cancer Survivors: A Unique Perspective on Hope

Cancer Survivors: A Unique Perspective on Hope
Cancer Survivors: A Unique Perspective on Hope

Here at Issels®, we frequently encounter people who have been newly diagnosed with cancer, and their hope for a long healthy life seems gone. For the longest time, a cancer diagnosis has been linked with impending death, and while it’s true that some do lose their lives to this terrible disease, for the first time cancer patients can truly have hope.

There have been many advances in cancer treatment in recent years, and more patients are getting screened early on if they feel they are at higher risk. Early detections and improvements in treatment are saving lives, and the number of cancer survivors is expected to increase at an incredible rate in the months and years ahead. Currently, there are 15.5 million cancer survivors in the United States, and in just ten years that number is expected to hit 20 million.

Knowing these numbers is important, because cancer survivors have different needs than cancer patients; especially those who have undergone treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. These patients often have serious, long-standing effects from what we’ve always thought of as “conventional” cancer treatments, and experts are still trying to find a way to help them with the physiological and psychological effects that can last the rest of their lives.

There’s no question that chemotherapy and radiation have been life-saving for many cancer survivors. However, they have also caused significant problems, such as heart disease, osteoporosis, neuropathy, and other physical ailments.

At Issels®, our focus is on immunotherapy, which has been shown to have no devastating long-term effects. Please contact us to learn more about this breakthrough in cancer treatment.