Pentoxifylline an FDA Approved

Pentoxifylline an FDA Approved Drug for Vascular Disease That May Boost Immunotherapy

Pentoxifylline, sold under the brand name Trental is typically used for vascular disease to increase blood flow due to its effect in reducing blood viscosity.  However, there is a gene called c-Rel that is important to maintain the function of regulatory cells such as Tregs and MDSC.  As I have discussed, the immune system has two sides, one that is regulatory, which has been tricked by cancer to protect it.  There is the other side that can attack cancer.

Our goal is to tip the balance in favor of attacking cancer.   In a study published by Grinberg-Bleyer, et al in Cell, Sept 7, 2017, titled “NF-kB c-Rel Is Crucial for the Regulatory T Cell Immune Checkpoint in Cancer” they describe how blocking c-Rel can reduce the regulatory function of Tregs.  In addition, Li, et al published in Nature Cancer, May 18, 2020, an article titled “c-Rel is a Myeloid Checkpoint for Cancer Immunotherapy” which discusses MDSC.

These two articles are describing how c-Rel is key to two of the main groups of immune cells that can inhibit an anti-cancer immune response.  In turn, blocking c-Rel was demonstrated in animals to enhance standard immunotherapy, such as PD-1 inhibitors.  Blocking both c-Rel and PD-1 together was better than either alone.  The study by Grinberg-Bleyer showed that Pentoxifylline, a c-Rel inhibitor delayed tumor growth in the mouse model.  When administered with a PD-1 inhibitor, the effects of both were enhanced.  Though there are other c-Rel inhibitors in development, since Pentoxifylline is available and FDA approved, it may allow for off-label use which could improve the results of immunotherapy.

Jason R. Williams, MD, DABR

The material contained on this site is for informational purposes only and DOES NOT CONSTITUTE THE PROVIDING OF MEDICAL ADVICE, and is not intended to be a substitute for independent professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health.

Share this entry

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on WhatsApp
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share by Mail

The post Pentoxifylline an FDA Approved appeared first on Williams Cancer Institute.

source https://williamscancerinstitute.com/pentoxifylline-an-fda-approved/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pentoxifylline-an-fda-approved

How Does Breast Cancer Cryoablation Work

How Does Breast Cancer Cryoablation Work

---

Cancer is a frightening word for anyone to hear. When it comes to breast cancer, many women feel an especially strong fear. Fortunately, treatments are improving every day and there are now a variety of treatment options available. One such option is Breast Cancer Cryoablation. This article will discuss what Cryoablation is, the benefits of this treatment method, and how it may be right for you.

Cryoablation is a surgical procedure that uses extreme cold to destroy breast cancer cells. This minimally invasive treatment is an alternative to traditional surgery for women with early-stage breast cancer. Cryoablation can be used to treat tumors that are too small to remove with traditional surgery or when traditional surgery is not possible.

Benefits of Cryoablation Over Traditional Surgery

Cryoablation surgery is a safe and effective treatment for breast cancer. It has been shown to be as effective as traditional surgery in removing tumors. Cryoablation also causes less damage to healthy tissue than traditional surgery. This can lead to fewer complications and a quicker recovery time.

Side Effects of Cryoablation

As with any surgical procedure, there are some risks associated with Cryoablation. These include infection, bleeding, and damage to healthy tissue. However, these risks are minimal and can be minimized by following your doctors’ instructions carefully.

It is important to discuss the benefits and risks of Cryoablation with your doctor before deciding if this is the right treatment for you.

Cryoablation surgery is a safe and effective treatment for breast cancer. If you are considering this procedure, please make an appointment with one of our specialists at Williams Cancer Institute to discuss your options. We are here to help you get the care that you need. Our team of experts will work with you to develop a treatment plan that meets your needs and provides the best possible outcome.

The material contained on this site is for informational purposes only and DOES NOT CONSTITUTE THE PROVIDING OF MEDICAL ADVICE, and is not intended to be a substitute for independent professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health.

Share this entry

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on WhatsApp
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share by Mail

The post How Does Breast Cancer Cryoablation Work appeared first on Williams Cancer Institute.

source https://williamscancerinstitute.com/how-does-breast-cancer-cryoablation-work/

World Cancer Day

World Cancer Day

---

World Cancer Day has arrived and Williams Cancer Institute would like to thank each and every patient who has entrusted their health with our clinic and treatments. Williams Cancer Institute aims to help create a cancer-free world. Our team has been passionately working on developing continuous medical research to eradicate cancer. We value the courage and strength every cancer patient has, and we honor your resilience.

The more awareness we bring forth to the community about immunotherapy for cancer means more patients will have the opportunity to be treated with less invasive treatments. In this interview, Dr. Jason Williams explains the main advances in research that are being developed at the Williams Cancer Institute to fight cancer.

Jason R. Williams, MD, DABR

The material contained on this site is for informational purposes only and DOES NOT CONSTITUTE THE PROVIDING OF MEDICAL ADVICE, and is not intended to be a substitute for independent professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health.

Share this entry

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on WhatsApp
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share by Mail

The post World Cancer Day appeared first on Williams Cancer Institute.

source https://williamscancerinstitute.com/world-cancer-day/

Immunotherapy for Cancer

Immunotherapy for Cancer

---

Immune response in cancer treatments has been studied for over decades and to this day continues to be closely researched in an attempt to provide a less invasive treatment for patients. Thanks to medical research, patients and physicians have access to seventeen immunotherapy FDA approved treatments. This ongoing mission is one of great value and in today’s blog we will be exploring more interesting details about the immune system and cancer. 

The immune system includes immune cells known as antigen presenting cells, such as a dendritic cell. It gathers information and distributes it to the immune system. Now, just as it will deliver good information, it can also deliver the bad information. When this happens, it alters the T effector cells. With this, the dendritic cells are more likely to slow the immune system down rather than help it. Due to this, there is an urgency for a more precise form of treatment. 

Cryoablation 

This fascinating medical advancement is used to destroy the malignant cell while also gathering important information. Having access to good information will allow this form of therapy to then destroy the cancer that’s affecting the body. 

You may be wondering “what exactly is cryoablation?” 

Well, it’s a form of immunotherapy that involves freezing a tumor directly with a thin needle. It works best when used for early stage cancer and is useful with immune-enhancing measures to reduce the risk of future metastasis. Cryoablation is so powerful that it can be used to generate strong immune responses which can lead to one of the most successful cancer treatments that exist, especially for patients with Stage III or IV cancer. Another important note is that combining cryoablation with other forms of immunotherapy enhances the overall success rate of the cancer treatment.   

————

Robert O. Dillman, Gary B. Fogel, Andrew N. Cornforth, Senthamil R. Selvan, Patric M. Schiltz, and Carol DePriest: Features associated with survival in metastatic melanoma patients treated with patient-specific dendritic cell vaccines. Cancer biother radiopharm 26:407-15 (2011)

DOI: 10.1089/cbr.2011.0973

The material contained on this site is for informational purposes only and DOES NOT CONSTITUTE THE PROVIDING OF MEDICAL ADVICE, and is not intended to be a substitute for independent professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health.

Share this entry

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on WhatsApp
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share by Mail

The post Immunotherapy for Cancer appeared first on Williams Cancer Institute.

source https://williamscancerinstitute.com/immunotherapy-for-cancer/

A Simple Guide to Understanding Breast Cancer

A Simple Guide to Understanding Breast Cancer

---

Have you or a loved one previously been diagnosed with breast cancer?

Are you currently struggling on learning how to support your loved one through this battle?

If so, you have reached a great place where you will receive information that will assist you throughout this journey. Breast cancer is a type of cancer that mostly affects women. It is most common to see breast cancer in women the age 50 years and older. This does not mean it will not affect women of younger age. 

Many factors can increase the risk of breast cancer such as:

-Family history of breast cancer

-Having dense breast

-Genetic mutations such as BRCA1 and BRCA2

Breast cancer can start at many different places throughout the breast. The most common one is ductal cancer which affects the ducts in the breast that carry milk to the nipple. Another place is in the glands of the breast which make breast milk. If cancer stays local there could possibly be less harm to the body. Unfortunately, there is a vast connection of lymph nodes in and around the breast that can be affected by these cancer cells. In some cases, the cancer cells travel into the lymphatic cells or the blood and this can potentially cause cancer to metastasize. This is why it is more promising to treat breast cancer at its earlier stages because there is less probability that the cancer cells have spread to the rest of the body. 

Once screened, the physician will diagnose the patient with one of the two types of breast cancer: ductal carcinoma in situ or invasive breast cancer. The next blog will further go in depth to explain the difference between the two. Your doctor may use an MRI for the breast, a mammogram, or an ultrasound to diagnose breast cancer. Sometimes, multiple scans are necessary in order to rule out any confusion. Afterward, a process called staging is usually performed to detect what stage the cancer is at and whether it has spread to other parts of the breast area. 

As noted, breast cancer can be very complex if it’s not broken down into simple steps. It’s a sensitive conversation to have especially with all the fear. Coming up in the next blog, the main topic will be the two most common types of breast cancer. 

“What Are The Risk Factors For Breast Cancer?” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 Sep. 2021,

https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/basic_info/risk_factors.htm.

Jason R. Williams, MD, DABR

The material contained on this site is for informational purposes only and DOES NOT CONSTITUTE THE PROVIDING OF MEDICAL ADVICE, and is not intended to be a substitute for independent professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health.

Share this entry

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on WhatsApp
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share by Mail

The post A Simple Guide to Understanding Breast Cancer appeared first on Williams Cancer Institute.

source https://williamscancerinstitute.com/a-simple-guide-to-understanding-breast-cancer/

Could a Group of Arthritis Drugs be a Game Changer in Cancer Immunotherapy?

Could a Group of Arthritis Drugs be a Game Changer in Cancer Immunotherapy?

---

The immune system produces proteins, known as chemokines, which are signals that can affect immune function.  There is a chemokine named C-C motif ligand 20, also known as CCL20.  It is known as an inflammatory protein, often associated with rheumatoid arthritis.  However, new evidence links this cytokine with numerous cancers.  It seems that CCL20 promotes cancer metastasis.  In addition, it increases cancer stem cells and causes T cell exhaustion.  These actions will suppress an immune response.  There are studies in many cancer types indicating that blocking CCL20 is anti-cancer and may enhance the success of immunotherapy.  Surprisingly enough, drugs that can block CCL20 may also reduce autoimmune side-effects from standard PD-1 immunotherapy, such as Opdivo and Keytruda.  Unfortunately, patients with autoimmune side effects are typically given steroids to treat these issues, which can reduce the success of immunotherapy. It seems these arthritis medications would be a better choice because they reduce side effects and increase immunotherapy success.  They appear on their own to be cancer immunotherapy.

So what drugs arthritis am I discussing?  I am talking about three FDA-approved medications, Infliximab, Tocilizumab, and Etanercept.  These drugs all indirectly block CCL20.   Though more studies are needed, it seems using any of these with immunotherapy can increase response rates while possibly lowering autoimmune side effects.  I am sure the potential benefits will lead to new drugs specifically designed to inhibit the CCL20-CCR6 axis.   Also, some natural agents have inhibition of CCL20, including Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and gallotannin.    These arthritis drugs are a reasonable consideration that can be deployed right away since they already have approval for a different purpose. Indeed they may have great value in patients who have failed or developed autoimmune side effects from standard immunotherapy, such as Opdivo and Keytruda.

Jason R. Williams, MD, DABR

The material contained on this site is for informational purposes only and DOES NOT CONSTITUTE THE PROVIDING OF MEDICAL ADVICE, and is not intended to be a substitute for independent professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health.

Share this entry

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on WhatsApp
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share by Mail

The post Could a Group of Arthritis Drugs be a Game Changer in Cancer Immunotherapy? appeared first on Williams Cancer Institute.

source https://williamscancerinstitute.com/could-a-group-of-arthritis-drugs-be-a-game-changer-in-cancer-immunotherapy/

Selenium: A Key Element with Anti-cancer

Selenium: A Key Element with Anti-cancer and Immunotherapy Boosting Functions.  The Only Problem Is It’s Not the Selenium You are Taking

---

Selenium plays a vital role in many biological processes and has been shown to enhance immunotherapy’s ability for cancer to work better potentially.  When we look at selenium, the more active metabolite is methylselenol.  Three forms of selenium convert to methylselenol. These are methylselenocysteine (MSC), selenomethionine (SM), and methylselenic acid.  Only the first two, MSC and SM, are found in typical selenium supplements.  Of those two, MSC is more effective in converting to the most active form.  However, cancer may have low enzyme levels that convert MSC into the active form, making it less effective.  The form of selenium that is most effective in converting to the active form is methylselenic acid (MSA).   The fact that MSA seems to be the most effective is reflected in the scientific literature. A wealth of articles show almost all the anti-cancer and cancer prevention is associated with MSA.  I would suggest that you go on Pub Med and do a search on your own.   Yan et al. published a study titled “Dietary supplementation with methylseleninic acid, but not selenomethionine reduces spontaneous metastasis of Lewis lung carcinoma.”

The big question is if most of the studies point to MSA as being the most effective, why is it not the form of selenium given to patients or offered in any supplement?  The answer to this question remains elusive.  At first, you would think maybe it is a toxicity issue, but that does not seem to be the case.  The other is a cost issue; that is partially true; MSA is more expensive now, but not so far out of range.  I would personally rather spend more to buy something that works.  I have been working on this, and hopefully, soon, we can have MSA available for our patients.  We are also injecting MSA directly into cancer by image guidance, combined with immunotherapy.

Methylselenic acid has a long history of direct anti-cancer effects, along with cancer prevention.  In addition, of extreme importance to cancer patients on immunotherapy, it regulates immune receptors and can be an essential key to treatment success.  As I mentioned in my book, “The Immunotherapy Revolution,” selenium supplementation could reverse treatment failure for patients receiving PD-1 inhibitors such as Opdivo and Keytruda. Don’t let a simple common element be the reason your cancer immunotherapy treatment fails.

Jason R Williams, MD, DABR

REFERENCES

The main cytotoxic effects of methylseleninic acid on various cancer cells.

Varlamova EG, Turovsky EA.Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Jun 21;22(12):6614. doi: 10.3390/ijms22126614.PMID: 34205571

Methylseleninic acid overcomes programmed death-ligand 1-mediated resistance of prostate cancer and lung cancer.

Hu W, Ma Y, Zhao C, Yin S, Hu H.Mol Carcinog. 2021 Nov;60(11):746-757. DOI: 10.1002/mc.23340. Epub 2021 Aug 19.PMID: 34411338

Selenium stimulates the antitumor immunity: Insights to future research.

Razaghi A, Poorebrahim M, Sarhan D, Björnstedt M.Eur J Cancer. 2021 Sep;155:256-267. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2021.07.013. Epub 2021 Aug 13.PMID: 34392068

The material contained on this site is for informational purposes only and DOES NOT CONSTITUTE THE PROVIDING OF MEDICAL ADVICE, and is not intended to be a substitute for independent professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health.

Share this entry

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on WhatsApp
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share by Mail

The post Selenium: A Key Element with Anti-cancer appeared first on Williams Cancer Institute.

source https://williamscancerinstitute.com/selenium-a-key-element-with-anti-cancer/