How the Immune System can be Utilized in Cancer Treatment

AAIT was developed in 2006 and may be used to fight against numerous cancers – and can help as a treatment for cancer and metastatic cancers. Since AAIT has yet to be approved by the FDA, it is currently only available in Envita's international center located in Hermosillo, Mexico, administered by our international biologics immunotherapy medical team.

Cancer immunotherapy attempts to stimulate the immune system to reject and destroy tumors. Immuno-cell therapy for cancer was first introduced by Rosenberg and his colleagues of National Institute of Health USA. In the late 1980s, they published an article in which they reported a low tumor regression rate of 2.6–3.3% in 1205 patients with metastatic cancer who underwent different types of active specific immunotherapy(ASI), and suggested that immuno-cell therapy along with specific chemotherapy is the future of cancer immunotherapy. Immunotherapy treatments initially involved administration of cytokines such as Interleukin.

The adverse effects of such intravenously administered cytokines lead to the extraction of the lymphocytes from the blood and expanding in vitro against tumor antigen before injecting the cells with appropriate cytokines. The cells will then specifically target and destroy the tumor expressing antigen against which they have been raised.

What Cancer Types Can AAIT Help?

Research has shown that decreased numbers or function of NK or NKT cells tend to predispose cancer patients to more aggressive tumor growth, with a continuing decrease in the number of these cells and anti-tumor function as the disease progresses.There are reports of depressed NK activity in a multitude of cancer types including but are not limited to:

Immunotherapy in the US - Still a Long Ways to Go

Provenge, a dendritic cell vaccine used for refractory prostate cancer patients who are not responding to conventional treatments, is the first FDA approved immunotherapy drug in the United States. Provenge's primary job (via dendritic cells) is to turn on and present (antigen information) to the natural killer cell (NKT) to actually hone in on the cancer cells. The natural killer cells will actually do the killing, or lysing, of the tumor. The dendritic cell vaccine works via presentation of antigen to NKs, providing the information needed for immune system to go and kill the cancer cells. However, there can be problems with this type of treatment. The Cancer itself can cause problems with this immune system communication in the body.

The AAIT Advantage: A Comparative Look

Unlike Provenge, AAIT works with and without antigen presentation and its applicable to far more than prostate cancer patients. Moreover, the quantity and quality of autologous natural killer cells in the final product has great enough potential to significantly attack cancer cells and metastasis. This is a major advancement from the 15year old dendritic cell vaccine.

Cancer cells have developed some very advanced methods to avoid or confuse the immune system. One such means by which cancer cells grow and spread is by shedding antigens – their identifying "fingerprints." The immune system's Cytotoxic T cells will often hunt the detached antigens rather than the dangerous cancer cells they are truly after. This is the problem with using dendritic cell vaccine only.

They are not dependent upon antigens for identification purposes and along with their counterparts, NKTs – they can find and destroy cancer cells without assistance – a major advantage delivered by AAIT. However, these NKs are scarce in the body and more so in cancer patients, compromising but 10 percent of circulating peripheral blood lymphocytes. Expanding and activating NKs can give a patient the major advantage in fighting cancer.

How Do Natural Killer Cells Work?

NK cells, through cytokine secretion, regulate the immune system, thereby making them supremely important in dealing with metastatic disease. These cells produce interferon-gamma, which drives antitumor cellular immune responses. And they do so efficiently. NKs exert cytotoxic effects with the ability to target invaders without damaging the host tissue.

CD56 is the primary fingerprint for natural killer cells, while their natural killer T cell counterparts also carry a CD3 designation. CD56 is an excellent marker to look for in patients with cancer, as well as those with viral or Lyme disease. CD56 cell numbers in these patients are typically lower than in healthy people, with CD56 numbers diminishing with disease progression. Patients who have lower than normal immune system functionality are referred to as "immunocompromised."

When NK cell numbers and functionality are low, cancer patients are predisposed to more aggressive tumor growth. And, as disease progresses, such declines are likely to continue. In both animal and human clinical trials, we have seen that by restoring NK and NKT function leads to enhanced cellular immune tumor-response and higher patient survival rates.

A Comparative Glance at NK Vaccines Across the Globe

AAIT has been found to purport two times the "tumor kill" than similar research projects currently being conducted and published by Stanford University, Mayo Clinic, and Rush Presbyterian hospital studies.

Moreover, AAIT offers (unlike other NK vaccines found in Europe) a stunningly more compressive set of cells – up to 5-10 billion cells per patient. The cells take 4-5 weeks on average for preparation once the initial draw is conducted. We base our AAIT usability criteria in 3 areas quantity, quality, and sterility.

This treatment not available in US and it is not FDA approved for the treatment of cancer. Patients should consult with their doctors before considering any therapy or treatment. Envita Mexico is governed under Mexican law and medical legal jurisdiction, and in no way do we make any guarantees or claims of any outcomes for this or any other treatment. The information above is for educational purposes only.