Tag Archives: Cancer Treatment

Cancer Research, Cancer Treatment

How to Starve Cancer Getting Fuel from Fat Cells

Cancer research is now going beyond the genetic aspect to explore how the disease interacts with the body’s systems. Recent studies of the relationship between cancer and fat cells may have implications concerning immunotherapy for cancer.

Feeding the Growth of Cancer Cells

While the precise causes are not yet known, obesity has been identified as a risk factor for prostate cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men. As a result, research into the link between cancer and fat cells has focused on this form of the disease.

Previous tests involved mice who were fed a high-fat diet. In contrast, researchers at Sanford Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in San Diego conducted a study using mice who lacked a protein called p62, causing them to become obese on a normal diet.

According to co-author Dr. Jorge Moscat, this control was necessary to get a clear understanding of the communication pathways between cancer and fat cells. The team discovered that p62 suppresses another protein known as mTORC1, which in turn inhibits energy use by fat cells.

Can Cancer Cells Be “Starved” to Death?

With metabolism halted in fat cells, nutrients are then available to fuel development of tumor cells. Lack of p62 also triggers production of proteins found at high levels in particularly aggressive forms of prostate cancer.

As explained by Dr. Moscat, these findings can help identify specific substances to be targeted by immunotherapy for cancer treatments with the goal of “starving” cancer cells.

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

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Alternative Cancer Treatment, Breast Cancer, Cancer Treatment

Steer Clear of These Foods While in Traditional Cancer Treatment

Herbs and other supplements can provide an added boost for patients with cancer. In many cases, alternative cancer therapies can succeed where standard therapies have failed.

However, in some cases, complementary medicines that are recommended for some patients can actually have adverse effects on certain other patients. An herb may be excellent for one form of cancer and hazardous for another. In all cases, patients should confirm recommendations with a doctor before taking supplements.

These products may not be prescription drugs, but they do have a powerful ability to interact with chemotherapy, radiation treatments, and anti-cancer medicines.

Below are common supplements with anti-cancer properties that may also cause serious problems if taken during other treatments. Consult the American Cancer Society website or other trusted sources for a helpful guide to vitamins, minerals, and herbal medicines.

1. Fish oil: May induce bleeding if you have a low platelet count.

2. Ginger: Also may induce bleeding.

3. Turmeric: Could decrease the effectiveness of chemotherapy — or increase the effects, with toxic results.

4. Coenzyme Q10: Antioxidant properties may interfere with chemotherapy and radiation.

5. Milk thistle: May affect estrogen levels, which could pose an issue for breast or ovarian cancer.

6. Licorice: Also may affect estrogen levels.

7. Green tea: Negates the benefits of certain anti-cancer drugs.

8. Reishi mushroom: May interfere with certain drugs or chemotherapy.

9. Astragalus: May interfere with certain immunosuppressants.

10. Acidophilus: May cause infections or other problems if taken during chemotherapy.

Despite the risks for some patients, these substances do have successful results for many people. Issels® Integrative Immuno-Oncology can always help with information about alternative cancer treatment.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Treatment

Careful with Antibiotics During Cancer Treatment!

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.

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Cancer Treatment, Uncategorized

Cancer Genome Atlas Reveals an Inherent Weakness in Tumor Cells

In genetic analyses of cancer cells, scientists have focused largely on the DNA component. Thanks to a genetic database compiled over 13 years, researchers have discovered that information found in RNA may possibly enable expanded use of cancer immunotherapy.

What Is the Cancer Genome Atlas?

The Cancer Genome Atlas was a joint project between the US National Cancer Institute’s Center for Cancer Genomics and the National Human Genome Research Institute. Genetic information from tumor cells representing 33 types of cancer was gathered from thousands of patients.

In 2017, the project came to its planned conclusion. Going forward, scientists will continue to mine the data in search of applications toward improved prevention, detection and treatment of cancer.

A New Clue in Cancer Detection

Just after the conclusion of the Atlas project, a research team headed up by Gunnar Rätsch, professor of biomedical informatics at ETH Zurich, took on an analysis of the database. They were aided by a supercomputer that was capable of processing several hundred terabytes of raw data.

RNA, which “transcribes” DNA, first undergoes a series of changes known as alternative splicing. In this process, specialized enzymes remove sections from an RNA molecule and join the remaining sides together.

While alternative splicing can take many variations, Rätsch’s team discovered tens of thousands of previously undescribed forms of splicing that were present in cancer cells. Up to 75 percent of the cases studied contained these variations, so the team is hopeful that further research could lead to using these markers for expanded cancer immunotherapy treatment.

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Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Treatment, Immunotherapy for Cancer

New Urine Test May Allow Dismissal of Prostate Biopsy

Urine samples can be used to detect a wide range of conditions such as diabetes, pregnancy and drug abuse. Researchers are now working on developing a urine “sniff test” that can help reduce the number of unnecessary prostate cancer biopsies.

Diagnosing Prostate Cancer

Among men in the United States, cases of prostate cancer are second only to skin cancer. Approximately one in seven men will require cancer treatment for the disease at some point in their lifetime.

One of the signs of prostate cancer is an elevated blood level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Unfortunately, unrelated conditions can also cause high PSA levels, so a biopsy is necessary for a specific diagnosis.

The Nose Knows

A study showed that dogs could smell the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the urine of men with prostate cancer at 98 percent accuracy, prompting a team at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis to investigate further.

After collecting urine samples from 100 men undergoing prostate biopsies and neutralizing the pH to prevent degradation, the team discovered that a particular set of VOCs was present in 90 percent of the men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer but absent in the men who were cancer-free.

The researchers plan to validate their findings with a large-scale study and comparison to the results with dogs. If all goes well, they project that a version of the sniff test will be available for clinical use within a few years.

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Our individually developed immunotherapy programs are based on special testing to identify your particular needs. Contact us for more information.

Cancer Treatment, Uncategorized

Pre-Surgical Immunotherapy May Improve Some Cancer Outcomes

As a popular saying reminds us, timing is everything, and that’s also true with cancer treatment. Researchers have discovered that pre-surgical cancer immunotherapy can improve outcomes with certain types of cancer.

How Does Immunotherapy Work?

Chemotherapy, surgery and other traditional cancer treatments have been used with varying degrees of success. Maximum dose limits and tumor resistance are some of the drawbacks that hamper their use. These therapies also affect healthy cells as well, resulting in side effects ranging from mild to serious.

As the name implies, immunotherapy aims to boost the ability of the body’s own immune system to fight cancer cells. Since immunotherapy is a non-toxic treatment, it potentially eliminates or reduces many of the common side effects that accompany other methods.

Since cancer cells are derived from normal cells, the immune system on its own will often ignore them. Immunotherapy serves as “reinforcements” by training the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells.

Benefits of Pre-Surgical Cancer Immunotherapy

Antibody therapy promotes the process of phagocytosis, in which macrophages actually ingest cancer cells. This treatment works best on leukemia rather than solid tumors.

Surgery is often the first course of treatment with tumors such as colorectal cancer, especially when the cancer has not yet spread, or metastasized. Unfortunately, surgery sometimes allows cancer cells to seep into the bloodstream, where they can circulate throughout the body.

Post-surgery antibody therapy has not been particularly effective. However, experimental models have shown that pre-surgical antibody therapy can stimulate phagocytosis with macrophages that are already present in the liver, which filters blood.

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