Tag Archives: Cancer Treatment

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Care Tips, Cancer Treatment, Uncategorized

Take Care with Antibiotics Now to Prevent Cancer Treatment Hampering Reactions

In Order To Achieve the Best Cancer Care Possible, You Must First Make Sure Your Body is Open to These Options to Its Best Ability.
In Order To Achieve the Best Cancer Care Possible, You Must First Make Sure Your Body is Open to These Options to Its Best Ability.

Doctors always take care when prescribing combinations of drugs due to possible negative interactions. It’s not surprising that mounting evidence indicates the complex balance of targeted cancer treatment can be upset by use of antibiotics.

Disrupting the Body’s Natural Defenses

According to results of a study conducted at the Georgia Cancer Center, this problem stems from the effect of antibiotics on gut microbiota, the network of bacteria, viruses and fungi that resides in the digestive tract. These “good” germs aid with digestion and protect our system from “bad” germs.

In the process of killing off microorganisms that cause infections, antibiotics also destroy large amounts of gut bacteria. As a result, patients on a course of antibiotics often experience nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms.

The Connection Between Gut Bacteria and Cancer Treatment

Dr. Gang Zhou, corresponding author of the study, explained that certain bacteria in the microbiota are necessary to activate the T-cells involved in cancer treatment known as adoptive T-cell therapy. A newer form of treatment called CAR T-cell therapy appears to be resistant to the antibiotic effect because it works on its own, with little reliance on the immune system.

Co-author Dr. Locke Bryan pointed out that antibiotics are often used in conjunction with chemotherapy. This traditional cancer treatment lowers white blood cell counts to the point where there’s no defense against bacteria, and an infection can be lethal to an already weakened immune system.

Individualized Treatment Plans for Specific Needs

Our personally tailored immunobiologic core treatments are designed to remove or repair factors that inhibit the body’s natural defense mechanisms. Contact us for more information.

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

Immunotherapy is Changing Cancer Treatment Again in Exciting New Ways

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Immunotherapy is Changing Cancer Treatment Again in Exciting New Ways
Immunotherapy is Changing Cancer Treatment Again in Exciting New Ways

If you think you’ve been hearing the term “immunotherapy” a lot lately, it’s not your imagination. Scientists consider this growing form of cancer treatment to be a game-changer on a par with the polio vaccine and organ transplants.

Researchers Commit to Immunotherapy

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, one of the top-rated health enterprises in the U.S., recently demonstrated their major commitment to immunotherapy research. Earlier this year, they announced plans for a $200 million Immune and Transplant Therapy facility to open in 2020.

UPMC’s newest center will focus on researching treatments to disrupt cancer growth as well as reduce the need for immune-suppressing drugs with transplant patients. Dr. Robert Ferris, director of UPMC’s Hillman Cancer Center, referred to the facility as “swinging for the fences.”

How Immunotherapy Works

Immunotherapy cancer treatments fall into one of two categories:

– Checkpoint modulator drugs trigger the body’s own immune cells to attack and destroy cancer cells.

– Cell therapies, such as the recently approved CAR-T therapy, involve harvesting a patient’s T-cells and programming them to fight cancer cells, at which point they are reinfused back into the patient’s system.

Dr. Sandip Patel of the University of California San Diego called immunotherapy a “paradigm shift” in cancer treatment. According to Patel, when immunotherapy is effective, it can lead to a patient’s cancer going into remission for years.

Issels®: A Pioneer in Immunotherapy Cancer Treatments

Our founder, Dr. Josef M. Issels, predicted the rise of immunotherapy more than 20 years ago. Visit our website to learn more about Issels® and our innovative approach to non-toxic, individually created cancer treatment programs.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Cancer Treatment, Uncategorized

The Keto Diet May Prove Beneficial to Cancer Patients While in Treatment

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What You Put in Your Body Could Be Affecting Your Likelihood of Catching Cancer.
What You Put in Your Body Could Be Affecting Your Likelihood of Catching Cancer.

People are always looking for the next great diet in an effort to lose weight. The recently popular ketogenic diet could have some surprising benefits for patients undergoing cancer treatment.

The Warburg Effect

Cancer cells proliferate via the Warburg effect, named for the scientist who first advanced the idea. Fermentation is a process by which sugars are metabolized to provide energy for bacteria. Sauerkraut and yogurt are some of the more widely-known products of fermentation.

Unlike normal body cells, which derive their energy from mitochondria, cancer cells receive energy from fermentation of glucose within cytoplasm. When a cell starts getting energy from glucose, it can be the first sign of abnormal cell function that ultimately results in formation of a tumor.

The Ketogenic Diet: Starving Cancer Cells

A keto diet plan is low in carbohydrates and high in fat. The science behind it is based on a biological response that dates back to prehistoric times. When food was scarce, the body responded by shifting metabolic gears and using stored fat as fuel.

When the body’s supply of carbs is restricted, it shuts off the flow of glucose and other cancer-promoting fuels. As cancer cells become compromised, the body resumes its normal cellular signaling, putting the brakes on further tumor development.

The keto diet should not be considered a cure for cancer. However, it’s a valuable tool for use in conjunction with immunotherapy and other cancer treatment.

Immunotherapy and Nutrition: A Winning Combination

Good nutrition is a perfect complement for our non-toxic cancer treatment programs. Visit our website for more information about cancer vaccines and other individually created treatments.

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

Ribosomes May be Hijacked to Protein Fuel for Cancers

It's Time to Stop Cancer
It’s Time to Stop Cancer

Cancer cells often have an uncanny ability to hijack the functions of normal body cells. Scientists have focused on this property in the belief that deciphering the process will lead to more effective cancer treatment.

Thanks to the results of a Yale University study, the scientific community may be a little closer to this goal. Discovery of unknown pathways to fuel sources provides insights into the development and growth of cancer.

How Cell Proteins Drive Cancer Growth

Organelles are specialized structures in cells that carry out certain tasks, much like organs do for the human body. One of these organelles, called the nucleolus, produces ribosomes, which in turn manufacture proteins.

Ribosomes can be hijacked by cancer cells to divert protein production in order to fuel cancer growth. In a study published in Cell Reports, Dr. Susan Baserga of Yale University and two of her graduate students screened 18,000 proteins that are vital to nucleoli formation.

A Target for Immunotherapy Cancer Treatment?

Dr. Baserga and her team found 139 proteins that serve as a type of master switching network. The proteins represent countless cellular pathways that control the production of ribosomes. This discovery clarifies the link between ribosomes and cancer as well as the one between ribosomes and certain birth defects known as ribosomopathies.

Personalized Cancer Treatment at Issels®

Our innovative cancer treatments target both the tumor and its microenvironment. Immunotherapy programs at Issels® are created specifically to address a patient’s individual needs.

Contact us to learn how our effective cancer treatments have helped patients whose advanced cancers were non-responsive to traditional therapies.

Cancer Research, Cancer Treatment, News

Liquid Biopsy Test for Cancer Has Problematic Accuracy Results

Liquid Biopsy Test for Cancer Has Problematic Accuracy Results
Liquid Biopsy Test for Cancer Has Problematic Accuracy Results

Early detection improves the chances of successful cancer treatment, so recent news of a “liquid biopsy” has encouraged the medical community. Unfortunately, the test is showing unacceptable levels of accuracy, leaving the procedure a long way from any real-world applications.

Controlled vs. Real World Conditions

CancerSEEK uses a blood sample for a battery of tests to measure tumor biomarkers and identify cancer-associated DNA mutations. During clinical studies, researchers obtained some promising results.

By the team’s own admission, the conditions were optimized to facilitate detection of cancer. Even so, most of the cancers detected were late-stage while the goal of screening was to find cancer in the early stages.

Accuracy problems in less-controlled environments became more clear in a 2017 study involving 40 prostate cancer patients who underwent liquid biopsies to fine-tune their therapy programs. Each sample was sent to two different labs with similar technology, but the results differed for more than half of the patients.

Are Liquid Biopsies the Answer?

Researchers are also questioning the full value of a positive result. While the test may detect the presence of cancer, it gives no clues as to the location of the tumor, unlike traditional screenings such as mammograms and CT scans.

Scientists will no doubt continue to study the science behind liquid biopsies, as detection of circulating tumor DNA can have other applications. The question remains whether liquid biopsies have a viable future as useful cancer screening.

Personalized Cancer Treatment at Issels®

We use a variety of specialized non-invasive standard and genomic diagnostic tests to create the cancer treatment that’s right for you. Contact us for more information.

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

Research Studies Now Under Way to Starve Cancer Tumors

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Research Studies Now Under Way to Starve Cancer Tumors
Research Studies Now Under Way to Starve Cancer Tumors

According to a popular old wives’ tale, you should starve a cold and feed a fever. Scientists working on immunotherapy for cancer are taking that advice a step further as they develop a new treatment that “starves” tumors to death.

Cutting Off Cancer’s Fuel Source

Glutamine is an amino acid found throughout the body, with the largest concentrations in blood and bone. While glutamine plays a major role in cellular synthesis of proteins, it also provides fuel for the rapid cell division of many types of cancer.

A research team at Vanderbilt University in Nashville began exploring the idea of blocking glutamine from cancer cells as a possible form of treatment. They focused on ASCT2, a protein that transports glutamine to cancer cells as well as other parts of the body.

The scientists created an ASCT2 inhibitor called V-9302. In testing on both mice and cancer cells developed in vitro, V-9302 was able to stop tumor growth by increasing oxidative stress on cancer cells, leaving them to eventually die off.

Using PET Imaging to Trace Tumors

As the team noted in their report, the next step is to find a way to determine how effective the inhibitors are in restricting glutamine access. The researchers suggested using positron emission tomagraphy (PET) scans to spot increases in glutamine metabolic rates.

Individually Created Immunotherapy for Cancer at Issels®

Not all cancer patients respond to treatment the same way. That’s why our immunotherapy for cancer programs are designed to address each patient’s unique case. Contact us to learn more about Issels® and our track record of helping patients achieve long-term remission.