Tag Archives: cancer research

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Cancer Treatment, Uncategorized

Tumor Treating Fields (TTF) Emerge as a New Cancer Treatment

New Advances Are Being Made in Cancer Treatment
New Advances Are Being Made in Cancer Treatment Using TTFields

Brain cancer is one of the more difficult forms to treat, with the last advancement dating back more than 10 years. Today scientists are excited about the potential of tumor-treating fields (TTFields) as a means of “shocking” cancer cells.

Putting a “Charge” into Cancer

TTFields were first approved as a cancer treatment by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2011. The method of sending mild electrical fields through the scalp was originally used to treat glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer that carries a two-year survival rate of approximately 30 percent.

NovoCure’s device, Optune, is a patient-controlled system that uses adhesive patches to deliver low-electric fields with a frequency of 200 kHz. The fields pulse through the skin, where they are thought to block the division of cancer cells.

TTFields in Action

There have been several subsequent trials of Optune that have generated positive results, but the most recent trial has been described as “landmark.” Neurologist Roger Stupp of Northwestern University led a group of researchers in a five-year study of patients newly diagnosed with glioblastoma.

Out of 695 participants, one-third were treated with oral chemotherapy alone while the other two-thirds had the oral treatment coupled with the Optune device. The two-, three-, four- and five-year survival rates were all significantly higher for the group that received the combination treatment.

Issels®: The Leader in State-of-the-Art Cancer Treatment

We’ve seen a significant number of patients achieve long-term remission after receiving our integrative immunotherapy programs. Contact us today to learn how Issels® has been ahead of the industry in the use of individually-developed immunotherapy protocols for cancer treatment.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Care Tips, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy, Immunotherapy for Cancer, Living with Cancer, News

Could Where You Live in Your Time Zone Affect Your Cancer Risk?

Does Your Time Zone Impact Cancer?
Tired When You Get Up? Could Your Time Zone Impact Cancer?

While the hour may be the same throughout a time zone, the degrees of sunlight and darkness are not. A recent study suggests that this quirk of nature may be linked to an increased cancer risk.

When Day Becomes Night

A research team at the National Cancer Institute was inspired by previous research showing slightly higher cancer risk among people who work the night shift. This finding was attributed to circadian disruption, which is a change in the body’s biological clock.

Shift workers experience extreme circadian disruption owing to almost complete reversal of day and night. The NCI researchers set out to see if the increased risk of cancer applied to minor disruptions in the body’s natural rhythms, referred to as social jet lag.

The most common example of social jet lag is rising at different times on work days and weekends, but the phenomenon also occurs with people living on either end of a time zone, where light and dark come at different times.

Effects of Social Jet Lag on Cancer Risk

After reviewing data from 4 million white adults who had been diagnosed with cancer, the NCI team found each five degrees of longitude toward the west resulted in an increased risk of three percent for men and four percent for women. Greater risk was also found specifically for breast cancer, prostate cancer and uterine cancer.

Issels®: Leading the Way in Immunotherapy for Cancer

Our Issels® clinic has been in the forefront of state-of-the-art immunotherapy for cancer treatments. Contact us to learn more about our personally tailored integrative programs.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Immunotherapy

Nanodiscs May Personalize Immunotherapy for Cancer in the Near Future

Training Your Immune System to Fight Off Cancer For You!
Training Your Immune System to Fight Off Cancer For You!

One of the highlights of immunotherapy for cancer is that the protocols are personally tailored to address your individual needs. A research team at the University of Michigan recently developed a way to customize cancer vaccines that holds promise for both current treatment and long-term immunity.

“Training” the Immune System

Immunotherapy for cancer focuses on helping your own immune system battle cancer cells. The vaccine created by the University of Michigan team uses synthetic high-density lipoproteins called nanodiscs to train the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells.

Nanodiscs use patient-specific genetic mutations, or tumor neoantigens, to trigger production of T-cells by the immune system. The T-cells then use the genetic material in the nanodiscs to target the cancer cells.

The study involved treating mice suffering from melanoma and colon cancer with a combination of checkpoint inhibitors and the nanodisc vaccine. Not only were most of the tumors eliminated, the mice remained tumor-free after the same cancer cells were reintroduced into their systems after 70 days.

University of Michigan Goes All-In on Nanodisc Research

Encouraged by the results of the test, the University of Michigan has created a biotech company named EVOQ Therapeutics to concentrate on developing and refining the nanodisc vaccine. Plans are to conduct further studies on animals before moving into clinical trials.

Issels®: Blazing the Immunotherapy for Cancer Trail

Cancer vaccines are just one of the innovative non-toxic treatments we employ at Issels®. Visit our website to learn more about our specialized testing methods and individualized integrative programs.

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

Medical University of South Carolina’s Antibody Treatment Research Holds Promise

Immunotherapy for Cancer
Immunotherapy for Cancer using Antibody Treatment

Researchers continue to make strides in discovering new cancer immunotherapy methods that help doctors successfully target tumor cells. As revealed in a recently published report, a team of scientists at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) have created a promising antibody-based therapy using a specific diagnostic marker known as GARP.

When Immune Cells Fail

Numerous studies have focused on TGF-beta, which is a protein used by regulatory T-cells (Tregs) to direct immune cells away from healthy cells. Malignant tumors get around this by releasing vast amounts of TGF-beta, essentially hijacking Tregs and causing them to suppress immune cell activity against the cancer cells.

GARP is the only known receptor that lets TGF-beta dock on cell surfaces. The MUSC team set out to determine whether GARP was the means by which tumor cells were able to harness TGF-beta.

Is GARP the Key to Activating Tregs?

After finding that GARP levels were higher in certain types of tumors, the team conducted a test in which they removed the GARP gene from mice with mammary tumors. As a result, the tumors grew more slowly and there was little metastasis to the lungs.

The MUSC team then used human GARP in mice to develop antibodies. Their hope is that in the future, cancer immunotherapy in conjunction with GARP antibodies will result in more effective treatment for breast cancer.

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

For decades, Issels® has been the leader in non-toxic integrative cancer treatments that boost your own immune system’s ability to fight tumors. Contact us today to learn more about the Issels® difference.

 

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, News

Stanford Scientists Research New Ways to Target Cancer

New Approaches to Cancer Bring New Perspectives to Potentially Solving this Disease.
New Approaches to Cancer Bring New Perspectives to Potentially Solving this Disease.

Cancer treatment has come a long way in the last 20 years. From immunotherapy for cancer to synthesized protein antibodies, cancer patients now have a variety of options to choose from when it comes to treatment in early or late stages.

Stanford Study Shows Promise

One of the major drawbacks of chemotherapy is the range of side effects that come with a dose strong enough to take care of a tumor. Stanford researchers have found a way to bind a synthetic protein to specific molecules in the lining of certain cells, allowing them to easily pass through without needing to be delivered via the blood stream.

Since particularly dense tumors are difficult to treat due to their lack of blood flow, many chemotherapy drugs need to be administered in high doses to get the desired effect.

The Importance of Synthetic Protein Antibodies

Much like a sponge, a tumor might absorb these special protein antibodies just by contact, leading to the saturation of the chemical within the tumor. This can cause the cancer cells to die off and the tumor to shrink, possibly eliminating the cancer causing cells completely.

All of this is done without the harmful effects of large doses of chemotherapy drugs. While these synthetic protein antibodies show promise, they could still be a few years away from the mass market.

It’s good to know that immunotherapy for cancer already exists even for late-stage patients, and new treatments are being developed by researchers to improve life expectancy and quality of life. If you would like to receive more information, get in touch with us today.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Care Tips, Cancer Research

National Cancer Institute: Environmental Cancer Causing Agents Act at the DNA Level

Cancer Can Be Caused at The DNA Level
Cancer Can Be Caused at The DNA Level

Reducing your risk of cancer involves more than eating a healthy diet that is low in fat and high in nutrients. Exposure to certain environmental factors can set the stage for development of cancer by actually causing damage to your DNA.

Everyday Exposure to Cancer-Causing Elements

As explained by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), cancer occurs when genes mutate in such a way that cell replication and growth is severely altered. While this can occur naturally, specific elements of the environment have been found to inflict this type of damage on DNA.

Here are some of the environmental carcinogens that present the biggest risk of causing cancer. Some are difficult to avoid, but others are more easily controlled.

  • Aflatoxins, which are associated with risk of liver cancer, are produced by mold that’s most often found on crops such as corn and peanuts. Aspergillus is the most common variety of aflatoxin-producing mold.
  • Tobacco smoke is one of the more highly publicized carcinogens. One obvious solution is to quit smoking or never start, but second-hand smoke is harder to avoid.
  • Asbestos releases minute fibers into the air when damaged. Ingesting these fibers can lead to lung cancer or mesothelioma. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration has instituted strict measures governing the use of asbestos, which have greatly reduced its risk.

NCI emphasizes that exposure to these elements doesn’t guarantee cancer. Factors such as length of exposure and individual genetic makeup also play a part.

Issels® and Non-Toxic Immunotherapy for Cancer

At Issels®, we understand that lifestyle and environment make each patient’s case unique. Contact us to learn more about our individually tailored immunotherapy for cancer.