Vaccine Design
Vaccines by design are medicines that help the body fight disease. They train the immune system to find and destroy harmful germs and cells. Cancer treatment vaccines stimulate the immune system to target and attack cancer cells in the body. Many vaccines are given throughout our lifetime to help prevent common illnesses. There are also vaccines for cancer, some are preventive vaccines intended to prevent cancer and others to treat cancer.
Key Features
The cancer vaccination is designed to:
- Eradicate metastatic and recurrent tumors without needing chemotherapy, surgery and without severe side effects.
- Deliver sophisticated anti-cancer immuno-antibodies directly into the tumor(s), transforming them into a potent systemic cancer vaccine by harnessing the power of immune cells to target and eliminate tumor cells.
Benefits
This groundbreaking vaccine not only enhances the response rate for tumor death but significantly reduces the harmful side effects of traditional cancer treatment. By targeting tumor-associated antigens (TAA) found on cancer cells at much higher densities than on normal cells, the vaccine spares normal cells while focusing its full force solely on attacking the tumor, a testament to its precision and effectiveness.
Types of Cancer
Cancer is a complex and multifaceted disease that can affect almost any part of the body. Medical advancements have significantly improved the diagnosis, treatment, and management of various types of cancer. Below, we provide a detailed overview of the types of cancer treated, focusing on colon cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, head and neck cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and prostate cancer. Additionally, therapeutic vaccines are being explored for their potential to treat different types of cancer by training the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells.
Colon Cancer
Overview: Colon cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, originates in the large intestine (colon) or the rectum (rectal cancer). It typically begins as small, benign clumps of cells called polyps, which can develop into cancer over time.
Symptoms:
- Persistent abdominal discomfort (cramps, gas, pain)
- Changes in bowel habits (diarrhea, constipation)
- Rectal bleeding or blood in stool
- Weakness or fatigue
- Unexplained weight loss
Breast Cancer
Overview: Breast cancer develops in the cells of the breasts. It is one of the most common cancers among women, but men can also be affected.
Symptoms:- A lump or mass in the breast
- Changes in breast shape or size
- Skin changes on the breast (dimpling, redness)
- Nipple discharge (other than breast milk)
- Pain in the breast or nipple
Liver Cancer
Overview: Liver cancer, or hepatic cancer, starts in the liver cells. The most common type is hepatocellular carcinoma.
Symptoms:
- Unintended weight loss
- Loss of appetite
- Upper abdominal pain
- Nausea and vomiting
- General weakness and fatigue
- Abdominal swelling
- Yellow discoloration of the skin and eyes (jaundice)
Head and Neck Cancer
Overview: Head and neck cancers encompass a group of biologically similar cancers originating in the mouth, nose, throat, larynx, sinuses, or salivary glands.
Symptoms:
- Lump or sore that does not heal
- Persistent sore throat
- Difficulty swallowing
- Change in voice or hoarseness
- Unexplained weight loss
Lung Cancer
Overview: Lung cancer begins in the lungs and is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths worldwide. It is broadly categorized into small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Symptoms:
- Persistent cough
- Coughing up blood
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Hoarseness
- Unexplained weight loss
Pancreatic Cancer
Overview: Pancreatic cancer begins in the tissues of the pancreas, an organ that lies behind the lower part of the stomach. It’s known for its poor prognosis due to late diagnosis.
Symptoms:
- Abdominal pain radiating to the back
- Loss of appetite or unintended weight loss
- Jaundice
- New-onset diabetes
- Blood clots
- Fatigue
Prostate Cancer
Overview: Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men, beginning in the prostate gland. The sipuleucel-T vaccine is used for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer.
Symptoms:
- Trouble urinating
- Decreased force in the stream of urine
- Blood in urine or semen
- Erectile dysfunction
- Bone pain (advanced cancer)
Doctors can identify targets on patients’ tumors, such as the overexpression of prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) by prostate cancer cells, for the sipuleucel-T vaccine.
Intratumoral Immunotherapy
Intratumoral immunotherapy is a minimally invasive treatment paradigm that seeks to fill this critical unmet need. The use of dendritic cells in antigen delivery and presentation is a key strategy in this approach. Immunosuppressive barriers in the tumor microenvironment can be broken by administering immune-activating therapies directly into the tumor.
Targeted Delivery
Moreover, therapies too potent for systemic delivery can be safely administered to target locations to maximize efficacy and minimize toxicity. A tremendous degree of creativity has been applied to developing multiple classes of intratumoral immunotherapies, ranging from antibodies to oncolytic viruses to small molecules to gene therapies.
Delivery Challenges
For these therapies to be effective, they must also be effectively delivered to the target tumor lesion. However, this challenge becomes modestly simple for vaccines directly injected into a tumor compared with the challenges faced by systemically administered vaccines.
ICCA's New Vaccine
ICCA’s new vaccine is a testament to the power of precision medicine in cancer treatment. Clinical trials play a crucial role in the development and evaluation of this therapeutic cancer vaccine. It is administered as an intratumoral immunotherapeutic, with a small needle depositing this new vaccine directly into the tumor, which remains for an extended period.
CoNexus Approach
FivePOINTS Cancer Care Program
Components
- CoNexus Intratumoral Immunotherapy
- Tumor-targeted Hyperthermia
- Short-course Radiation with chemo-sensitizing agent
- Microwave/Cryo Tumor Ablation
- Fresh Allogenic NK Cells & Autologous Dendritic cell vaccines
Purpose of FivePOINTS Cancer Care
FivePOINTS Cancer Care is purposely formulated to serve four vitally essential needs:
- Destroy metastatic and recurrent tumors without surgery, systemic chemotherapy, and collateral damage to surrounding organs or tissues.
- Prevent the spread of rogue cancer stem cells found within the tumor halo to organs or tissues, thus hampering the potential for future recurrence (e.g., metastatic breast cancer, etc.). This includes targeting tumor associated antigens to prevent the spread of rogue cancer stem cells.
- Enhance Immune Cell Response through enhanced identification of evasive cancer cells leading to the destruction, hampering, or even reversing progressing tumor growth. The use of tumor antigens plays a crucial role in enhancing immune cell response.
- Avoid harmful side effects and potential damage to healthy organs and tissues, which can occur when toxic drugs are circulating through the entire body, killing good and bad cells, wreaking havoc on healthy organs, and more.
ICCA Global Recognition
Contact Us
If you have metastatic, recurrent, or recently diagnosed cancer, please contact the specialists at ICCA Global.Â
Our multidisciplinary team of board-certified cancer experts is here to help find answers. We will work with you to review all your treatment options and develop a care plan that will yield the best potential results for you. At ICCA Global, you are always part of the team.