Advancing Ovarian Cancer Therapy with AAIT™

Autologous Adoptive Immunotherapy (AAIT™) introduces a transformative approach to ovarian cancer treatment, which diverges from traditional methods, such as chemotherapy and radiation. Conventional treatments often indiscriminately affect both healthy and cancer tissue, but immunotherapies like AAIT™ utilize the patient’s own immune cells to target and destroy cancer cells, drastically reducing collateral damage inside the body [1].

AAIT™ has been designed from the ground up to be tailored for each individual patient, utilizing your own natural killer and dendritic cells, and targeted to your specific strain of cancer. A targeted approach to therapy lowers the amount of damage suffered by healthy cells in the body, which reduces the side effects commonly associated with aggressive conventional therapies. Team Envita wishes to expand options for cancer patients by incorporating personalized medicine in their advanced targeted immunotherapies.

Personalized medicine offers clinicians the ability to improve treatment efficacy while preserving quality of life [2]! AAIT™ represents a general shift towards immunotherapy and personalized medicine in cancer care. This is especially significant for ovarian cancer where patients often face a recurrence of the disease [3]. This cutting-edge technology reprograms immune cells to make them more adept at recognizing and combating cancer cells that are unique to each patient. This is a powerful treatment that focuses on precise cancer targeting and is effective both in early intervention and advanced stages of disease [4,5].

AAIT™ can dramatically alter the typical progression path of ovarian cancer. It is utilized in the treatment of ovarian cancer and other forms of cancer and is currently available only in our Envita Mexico location. As clinical science progresses, immunotherapies like AAIT™ may become more common and available to patients in the United States [6]. AAIT™ brings the advantages of personalized medicine and can be beneficial for those who have advanced diseases, as well as those in the early stages of cancer. Utilizing the body’s own mechanisms for controlling and defeating cancer cells is key to a cancer treatment that is more tolerable for the patient and their quality of life [7]. In the following sections, we will provide an overview of the science behind AAIT™ and how we expect the treatment to develop in the future.

AAIT™ is an advanced form of immunotherapy with an optimum potential in ovarian cancer treatment, which has a high rate of recurrence. This is a form of cancer treatment which leverages the power of your immune system to combat cancer more effectively and with fewer side effects than conventional cancer treatments [8].

This personalized proprietary immunotherapy treatment begins with the extraction of Natural Killer (NK) cells and dendritic cells from a blood sample. Over a few weeks, these immune cells are replicated and grown in a laboratory setting, greatly increasing their number. At the same time, these immune cells are exposed to antigens taken from your tumor either through a biopsy or from metastatic cells present in a blood sample. The immune cells that demonstrate activity against tumor antigens can proceed to the next generation, ensuring that the replicated immune cells can target and destroy your specific tumor cells.

Your immune cells are collected and taken to an incubator for the activation and expansion process. Culturing the cells and enhancing their ability to target and destroy cancer cells takes several weeks. Specifically in the case of ovarian cancer, NK and dendritic cells can be tailored to be more aggressive against the specific characteristics of these kind of tumor cells which enhances the effectiveness of the cancer treatment when the cells are reintroduced into the body [9]. When these expanded immune cells are infused into the body, they seek out and destroy cancer cells with minimal impact to healthy tissues [10]. This targeted approach to cancer therapy contrasts with chemotherapy and radiation, which are characterized by side effects resulting from collateral damage to heathy tissues in the body.

The benefit of AAIT™ in ovarian cancer lies in this treatment’s ability to track down and target the disease beyond the initial tumor site. This is relevant in late-stage, metastatic cancer, but also in the prevention of tumor recurrence, which is problematic in patients with ovarian cancer [11]. By harnessing the power of your own immune system, AAIT™ presents a personalized treatment that adapts to the complexity and variability present in each individual patient. The specially trained team of healthcare providers at Envita Medical Centers is focused on personalized care to increase the overall efficiency of cancer treatment, while improving patient outcomes.

Research and clinical trials for adoptive immunotherapy are ongoing, allowing clinicians to constantly refine the application of the treatment as more is learned about the internal mechanisms of immune cells and the cancer microenvironment. Clinicians at Envita are always fine tuning the therapy to make it more effective and less invasive for our patients. Adoptive immunotherapy is an evolving therapeutic strategy in the field of treatment for ovarian cancer and holds the potential to significantly advance the way this form of cancer is approached in the future. AAIT™ is designed to progress towards a future where cancer treatment is more tolerable for the patient while aligning itself with the body’s natural defenses against cancer development.

AAIT™ is at the forefront of a shift in cancer treatment paradigms where immunotherapy is taking a more prominent place alongside classical cancer treatments like radiation and chemotherapy. It fits neatly into the expanding role of immunotherapy in cancer treatment, offering profound benefits for late-stage and recurrent ovarian cancer, while also reducing the chances of recurrence or metastatic spread in early-stage disease.

Our increasing understanding and ability to deploy engineered immune cells for therapeutic purposes and the demand for personalized medicine is driving this expansion in immunotherapy. These technologies promise to reduce the risk of recurrence and improve long-term survival rates, in addition to increasing quality of life during care.

Ovarian cancer often goes undetected until it has reached an advanced stage, so a cancer treatment capable of detecting and destroying microscopic satellite cancer cells spread throughout the body away from the main tumor site is critical and can transform outcomes as well as the risk for recurrence [12]. By employing immune cells that are specifically trained to identify your unique strain of cancer cells, AAIT™ offers a highly personalized treatment that can adapt to the complexity of each patient’s tumor. For ovarian cancer patients, this can be crucial because ovarian cancer tends to present with diverse cell types which then lead to variable responses to standard treatments [13]. In the case of early-stage ovarian cancer, AAIT™ could be used to eradicate the disease after surgical removal of the tumor, significantly reducing the chance of recurrence.

Looking ahead, adoptive immunotherapy, including AAIT™, could be integrated into standard treatment protocols to promote a more holistic approach, which aligns with the patient’s desire for quality of life during treatment. With ongoing advancements in immunotherapy research and a deeper understanding of the tumor microenvironment, AAIT™ is poised to become an integral part of cancer care. Working with the immune system, rather than against it, offers the ability to both enhance the efficacy of treatment while reducing side effects at the same time. As we continue to harness and enhance the body’s natural defenses against cancer, the future of AAIT™ in ovarian cancer looks promising, potentially setting a new standard for how we treat all stages of cancer more effectively and humanely.

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Disclaimer: The information on this website is for educational purposes only and not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider for medical advice and treatment options.