Tag Archives: Issels

Nicotine Dependence May Be a First Pathway to Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is one of the most common types of cancers in the U.S., as well as a top cause of preventable cancer death. Although anyone can develop this type of cancer, certain individuals have a higher risk. Those who smoke or have nicotine dependence face a considerably increased risk of having lung cancer.

With more research focusing on improving outcomes for lung cancer through cancer immunotherapy and other treatment methods, scientists need to learn more about the causes of this disease. A research team at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine studied potential pathways that lead to lung cancer.

Nicotine Dependence as a Pathway

Researchers studied possible pathways that allow a chromosome called 15q25.1 to raise an individual’s risk of lung cancer. This chromosome has previously been identified as a genetic component that can increase lung cancer risks in some individuals. The research team found two pathways associated with this chromosome that could help explain how it leads to a higher lung cancer risk.

Nicotine dependence is linked to the first pathway that the researchers found. This finding has helped scientists better understand how lung cancer develops and why individuals with a history of smoking and certain genetic components face a significantly higher risk of having lung cancer. The second pathway is linked to biological processes, including those involving the immune system.

Improved Lung Cancer Treatments

The findings of this research could pave the way for improved treatments for lung cancer. Scientists can use these findings to come up with ways to block risky genetic variants, resulting in better outcomes for those with cancer. The results of this study might also be used to develop more effective ways to treat lung cancer using the body’s immune system or other methods.

For more information on cancer treatment and cancer immunotherapy, please contact Issels® today.

Issels and the Dendritic Cell Vaccine for Cancer

It's Time to Cross Out Cancer!
It’s Time to Cross Out Cancer!

For decades, Issels® has been a leader in non-toxic immunotherapy for cancer treatments. The dendritic cell vaccine is one of the most potent weapons in our cancer-fighting arsenal, succeeding in many late-stage patients for whom other treatments had failed.

The Power of Dendritic Cells

Immunotherapy for cancer focuses on boosting the power of the body’s own immune system to fight tumors. Dendritic cells are part of the immune system, serving as advance sentries that recognize the presence of foreign antigens.

Once the dendritic cells process the antigens, they are presented to T cells, another part of the immune system. T cells are effectors that provide a response to stimulus such as bacteria, viruses and other invaders.

Individually, dendritic cells are extremely potent, but the problem is that they’re not usually present in large enough quantities. Dendritic cell vaccines are an effective method of increasing their numbers.

Issels® and the Dendritic Cell Vaccine

In a process called extracorporeal photophoresis, a patient’s blood passes through an ultraviolet light chamber, which provides an immune boosting effect. White blood cells are harvested and cultured into active dendritic cells, then re-injected into the body to trigger an immune response.

Traditional cancer treatments often have side effects because they attack healthy cells along with tumor cells. Dendritic cells can distinguish normal dying cells from cancer cells so the immune system refrains from attacking them.

Personalized Immunotherapy for Cancer at Issels®

Dendritic cell vaccines are only one of the innovative treatments we use for patients with all forms of cancer. Contact us to read and hear testimonials from our many patients who have successfully achieved long-term remission.

Our Patient Testimonials Give an Insiders’ View of Our Cancer Treatments

Get The Treatment You Need with Us!
Get The Treatment You Need with Us!

When it comes to cancer treatment at Issels®, no one can speak about it more eloquently than our patients. Here’s what they have to say in their testimonials about our integrative immunotherapy programs.

In Our Patients’ Own Words: The Issels® Difference

  • Gerhard Uhlemann was diagnosed with an epipharynx tumor of the head and neck. As he explains, “I was 12 years old and I am still thankful that Dr. Issels saved my life. Back then the University Clinic gave me two weeks to live.” After treatment, Uhlemann remained cancer-free for more than 30 years.
  • At the age of six, Emma Banks was diagnosed with a Wilms tumor. Two years after a nephrectomy of her left kidney, Emma experienced a relapse with two tumors in her left lung. Emma’s mother Susan relates that, thanks to treatment at Issels®, her daughter “has been in remission for almost nine years now without any standard treatment.”
  • When Kenneth Scoones lost his lymph nodes to melanoma, he was told the cancer had metastasized to his lungs and his life expectancy was one year at most. After four weeks at Issels®, a CT scan revealed that the metastases had disappeared. Scoones states that from his arrival, “The doctors, nurses, all the staff responded, showed care and affection, and compassion – everything that was needed for a patient with this sort of disease.”

Immunotherapy: Going Beyond Standard Cancer Treatment

Our innovative immunotherapy methods boost the natural power of your body’s own immune system. Contact us to learn more about cancer vaccines, NK cells and other non-toxic cancer treatments at Issels®.