Tag Archives: Immunotherapy

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Cancer Treatment

New T Cell Tracking May Improve Immunotherapy Treatments

Another Step in Stopping Cancer
New T Cell Tracking May Improve Immunotherapy Treatments

T cells are in the front line of your immune system, multiplying rapidly to attack invading cells throughout your body. Immunotherapy for cancer took a big step forward with a study that found ways to track T cells in order to harness their specific tumor-fighting abilities.

Finding a Needle in a Haystack

Adoptive T cell transfer is a method of treatment in which T cells are harvested from a patient’s body and “groomed” to target cancer cells. They were then multiplied and placed back in the patient’s system where they could attack the tumor.

Unfortunately, there are a couple of roadblocks to this process. It’s difficult to know which of the thousands of different types of T cells are most effective against cancer, and cloning the cells can dilute or alter the tumor-killing properties of the originals.

Solving the Identification Problem

Researchers at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have discovered a process to help solve the former problem. A method called high throughput T cell receptor sequencing allowed the scientists to tag each T cell receptor with a “barcode,” enabling them to be tracked throughout the body.

The team gained valuable data when they applied the method to 10 patients with metastatic melanoma. Trials are now underway in search of more effective ways to extract and multiply T cells.

Immunotherapy for Cancer: Boosting Your Body’s Natural Defenses

For decades, Issels® has been a pioneer in the use of vaccines, NK cells and other non-toxic immunotherapy for cancer treatments. Visit our website to learn more about our individually tailored programs.

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

Highlighting Natural Killer Cell Activation through the Issels Immunotherapy Protocol

Worker in a lab
NK Cells and Immunotherapy for Cancer

Natural Killer (NK) cells may sound scary, but they play a valuable role in immunotherapy for cancer. Boosting NK cell levels helps the immune system mount a strong response in order to eliminate tumors.

How Natural Killer Cells Work

When cancer is diagnosed early, treatment has a good success rate. Cases of late-stage cancer are more difficult to treat because the tumor cells have often begun metastasizing throughout the body.

This is where NK cells come in. They fight tumors as well as metastasized cancer cells through production of proteins known as cytokines. In addition, NK cells are so-called because of their capacity to quickly attack foreign bodies without the activation of antibodies.

Another valuable benefit of NK cells is their function in mediating anti-tumor immunity. Studies have shown that mice with reduced levels of NK cells have lowered resistance to metastases and RMA tumor outgrowth.

The Effect of Immunotherapy on NK Cell Levels

An analysis of NK cell counts was done on 129 patients who had gone through the Issels® treatment program. The group of patients ranged across all four Stage classifications and a wide variety of types of tumors.

Each patient’s individual protocols included non-toxic treatments such as immune-stimulants, autohemotherapy, oxidative therapy, enzymatic therapy, phytotherapy, amino acids, detoxification strategies, dietary and life-style changes, as well as emotional support. After approximately three weeks, the group showed an average 48 percent increase in absolute NK cell levels per individual.

Issels®: A Trailblazer in Immunotherapy for Cancer

Our clinic was established to carry on the groundbreaking work of our founder, Dr. Josef M Issels, in the field of immunotherapy for cancer. Contact us for more information about cancer vaccines and other personally tailored treatment programs.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Cancer Treatment, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy, Immunotherapy for Cancer, Stage Four Cancer Treatment

PBS News Hour Features Immunotherapy for Cancer

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Diverse Hands Holding The Word Cancer
Immunotherapy brings breakthroughs to cancer treatment.

As immunotherapy for cancer becomes an increasingly valuable method for fighting tumors, stories have moved from medical journals into the mainstream media. Immunotherapy was the topic of a recent edition of Leading Edge, a weekly science and technology report featured on PBS News Hour.

Immunotherapy: One Woman’s Story

First up were Melinda Welsh, a journalist who was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, and her oncologist, Dr. Alain Algazi of the University of California, San Francisco. When Melinda’s cancer metastasized, her doctors told her she had no more than a year to live.

Dr. Algazi began treating Melinda with an immunotherapy method known as a checkpoint inhibitor, which releases the “brakes” that prevent the body’s immune system from attacking tumor cells. Melinda then went into remission and continues today, three years after receiving her original diagnosis.

The Immunotherapy Difference

Host Hari Sreenivasan then conducted a discussion with Dr. Jeffery Bluestone, CEO of Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and New York Times reporter Matt Richter.

Highlights of the conversation include:

• Immunotherapy for cancer differs drastically from other treatments in that it uses the body’s natural power rather than poisons to fight tumors.

• Richter, who has profiled a number of cancer patients, characterized immunotherapy as a “quantum leap” in the fight against cancer.

• Dr. Bluestone cited the example of melanoma, which has gone from 5 percent five-year survival to 40 percent five-year survival.

A Personalized Approach

Our non-toxic immunotherapy for cancer treatments are tailored to meet your specific needs. Visit our website to read and hear success stories from patients who have been treated at our Issels® clinics.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Immunotherapy, Immunotherapy for Cancer

Major Growth in Immunotherapy for Cancer Expected Before 2020

Immunotherapy is Growing!
Immunotherapy is Growing!

Have you been noticing the topic of cancer immunotherapy in news and advertisements? Expect to see it more often in the near future as experts predict a significant increase in the market by the year 2020.

What Is Immunotherapy?

Immunotherapy is the general term for treating disease by affecting the immune system. Suppression immunotherapy restrains the immune system as opposed to cancer immunotherapy, which focuses on activating the immune response.

The immune system is the network that keeps your body safe from viruses, bacteria and other disease-causing organisms. When a foreign substance enters your system, it triggers an immune response to eliminate the threat.

Many types of cancer cells have the ability to slide “under the radar” and avoid detection by immune cells, giving them the opportunity to multiply and travel to other parts of the body. Immunotherapy works to remove the “shield” around cancer cells and help the immune system do its job.

Why Has Immunotherapy Become So Important?

  • Cancer immunotherapy treatments are created to specifically target cancer cells, so they have been useful against increasingly diverse forms of cancer.
  • Immunotherapy has fewer side effects than traditional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation.
  • Many immunotherapy treatments have proved to be successful, encouraging continued research and development.

Issels®: An Integrative Approach to Cancer Treatment

For more than 50 years, Issels® has been a leader in the development and use of innovative immunotherapy programs. No two cases of cancer are the same, and we use comprehensive testing to formulate personalized treatments. Visit our website for more information about our non-toxic therapies.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Immunotherapy, Immunotherapy for Cancer

Some Immunotherapy Drugs May Cause Heart Damage But There Is the Issels Safe Alternative

New Immunotherapy Drugs

New immunotherapy drugs on the market have shown tremendous benefits in battling cancer, but a potentially serious side effect has come to light recently. Some of these drugs, especially when used in combination, may cause heart damage.

Putting the Immune System in Overdrive

In November 2016 the New England Journal of Medicine published a report from a team of experts led by Dr. Javid Moslehi of Vanderbilt University. It involved two melanoma patients who died two weeks after their initial doses of Opdivo and Yervoy, manufactured by pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Opdivo and Yervoy are part of the class of drugs known as checkpoint inhibitors that boost the immune system’s ability to fight cancer cells. In some rare cases, it appears that the immune system also begins attacking the heart and other muscles.

Patient safety records at Bristol-Myers revealed that 18 patients out of 20,594 people receiving one or both drugs had experienced heart inflammation (for a rate of 0.09 percent). The rate increased for patients using both drugs, but it was still less than one percent.

Doctors are Cautious but Optimistic

According to Dr. Jeffrey Sosman of Chicago’s Northwestern University, who treated both patients in the report, overstimulation of the immune system was a known possibility. Many doctors believe drug combos are still the best option for effective treatment, but they are stressing that patients need to be informed of the risk and monitored closely.

Issels® Has Decades of Experience with Non-Toxic, Safe Immunotherapy for Cancer

Our clinic’s namesake, renowned cancer specialist Dr. Josef Issels, pioneered integrative methods of immunotherapy for cancer dating back to the mid-20th century. Contact us for more information about our safe non-toxic immunotherapy and cancer vaccines.

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.