Posted on by Daniel

Dendritic Cell therapy & Supporting Strategies

Update on April 2016: I do not see this option as a top option anymore given that I heard many actually starting to progress after starting this therapy. It is not only one person but several so a pattern starts to occur. Note that DC is typically given with New Castle Disease Virus – so I am not sure if NDV or DC leads to progression.

Dendritic cells (DC) therapy (in combination with anti PD1) is one of the most interesting cancer therapy. DC vaccine alone costs about 4500 euro for one vaccine and is available at various clinics in Europe and US. One of the best clinic working with Dendritic cells is that of dr. Nesselhut in Germany (for contact details see clinics section). They have a relatively large research lab supported by the German government. They are also collaborating with dr. Raymond Chang in USA (New York) so that their treatment is accessible in US as well. (Here is an introduction from dr. Raymond Chang on DCs.). Dr. Nesselhut clinic claims great results with DC and even more when combining with New Castle Disease virus andwith low dose anti PD1 (e.g. Nivolumab).
RGCC is also offering DCs through the clinics they are working with. If you like to investigate what are the options you can contact RGCC and ask what are the clinics near you that may offer their DC vaccine.

dendriticDendritic cells: Monocytes are taken from the patient by means of leukapheresis (less desirable procedure for those with low immune system) or simple blood withdrawal, so that extra dendritic cells can be cultivated outside the body. Those dendritic cells are “educated” to recognize tumors (primed with tumor sample from patient or peptides and/or viruses such as New Castle) and returned to the patient. It is typically indicated to have multiple treatment of this type and it may be combined with theNew Castle Disease virus (NDV) administration. In this case NDV will be used to prime DCs. NDV is first introduced into the body and will end up localized in the tumors only, since the tumors do not have the capability to generate interferon and kill the virus. After some hours DC vaccine is administrated with the DCs previously primed to recognize NDV so that they will end up targeting thetumors. This is the technique used by dr. Nesselhut clinic. RGCCs technique for DC production is partially different than that ofdr. Nesselhut, i.e. RGCC may produce DCs by priming them with the circulating tumor cells (CTC) in the blood. This is relatively special technique that can not be done by many to my knowledge and RGCC is probably the best in this since they are very experienced at capturing the CTC (typically used for the chemo sensitivity tests). While I think RGCC can use tumor samples too for priming the DCs, with this technique there is no need for a tumor sample but only some blood sample.

Ref for fig. above http://www.dendriticcellresearch.com/denvax

Once we decided to go for DC treatments, here are a few additional supplements and drugs that can be considered to be used as a supportive strategy for the DC therapy:

Addressing (inhibiting) Tregs

  • Cimetidine 800mg/day (Ref)
  • Metformin 1000mg/day – 2000mg/day
  • Cyclophosphamide 50mg 3x/week (as used by Prof. dr. Dana Flavin)

Addressing tumor microenvironment – making tumor surrounding less acidic in order to support the T-cell function:

  • Lanzoprazole or Omeprazole, e.g. 40-80mg/day
  • Statins (MCT1 inhibition), e.g. Medastatin at 40mg/day
  • Resveratrolat 500mg/day
  • Other proton transport inhibitors such as Amiloride 15-30mg/day, Acetozolamide 200mg/day
  • 2DG would also leadto reduced proton output (1-2g/day)
  • DCA20mg/kg/day and Alpha Lipoic Acid600-900mg/day will lead to reduced acidity

Others:

References

Cancer immunotherapy via dendritic cells Cancer immunotherapy attempts to harness the power and specificity of the immune system to treat tumours. The molecular identification of human cancer-specific antigens has allowed the development of antigen-specific immunotherapy. In one approach, autologous antigen-specific T cells are expanded ex vivo and then re-infused into patients. Another approach is through vaccination; that is, the provision of an antigen together with an adjuvant to elicit therapeutic T cells in vivo. Owing to their properties, dendritic cells (DCs) are often called ‘nature’s adjuvants’ and thus have become the natural agents for antigen delivery. After four decades of research, it is now clear that DCs are at the centre of the immune system owing to their ability to control both immune tolerance and immunity. Thus, DCs are an essential target in efforts to generate therapeutic immunity against cancer.

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24 thoughts on “Dendritic Cell therapy & Supporting Strategies”

  1. my partner has triple.negative breast cancer. she has been very ill recently after 4 treatments of various chemotherapy. and is too ill to receive trials at Christie hospital in Manchester where she had received bad new 13 weeks ago that she has 6-12 month to live. we don’t know which way to turn and would be grateful for some information from yourself…joanne Is currently in an hospice in aintree liverpool a mile from where we live…we had more bad news on Friday the 7oct that she will only have a minimum 6 months with us…so it was devastating news…we want some hope some some different opinion some optomism. os this possible..john nugent…joannes partner…

    1. Dear John,

      I am very sorry to hear that you have to go through this. I understand this very well as I am go through similar challenges.

      First, never lose hope and search always for positive reference points. There are many success stories next to the statistics.

      Second, you could contact Claire at https://www.triplenegative.co.uk/. She is TNBC patient as well, from UK, surviving for long time with the help of various new treatments. She may help with good advises.

      Third, ask your doctor if the tumor shows androgen receptors?
      It seems that a good part of TNBCs have that, and if that is the case they can respond very nicely to some (no-side-effects) drugs.
      Here is a reference on that:
      Complete Response of Metastatic Androgen Receptor–Positive Breast Cancer to Bicalutamide: Case Report and Review of the Literature http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/34/4/e21.full

      I hope this helps and please always keep your hope and positive expectation.

      Kind regards,
      Daniel

      1. Thank you Daniel, the tumor is a clear cell ovarian carcinoma. So high risk for recurrence and low response to chemo. We want to avoid the normal course of this tumor……

        1. Dear Alberto,

          You are very welcome. I actually know only one lady with melanoma who responded and was cured with DC. And melanoma is known to respond well to immuno therapies. But I also know many who did not responded and maybe even started progressing while on NDV+DC. This is a very expensive option and depending on the tumor location and size, for this money I would also consider TACE and Cryoablation.
          Besides this, we discussed on this website many other relevant options that can increase the chance of success. If there are questions on them please let me know.

          Kind regards,
          Daniel

          1. Daniel,
            my husband has stage 4 rectal cancer…we are looking at dendritic cell therapy in Germany. do you have any suggestions? There isn’t a whole lot of information online re: stats.
            K

            1. Hi Kris,

              Please let me know what are the other treatment options you are considering. If you have to make a choice, I can give you my opinion. (DC therapy is expensive and unless money are not an issue, is good to consider what else you could do with those money.) Regarding colon and colorectal cancer, you will be able to find some relevant treatments-related info on this website if you use the Search option on top-right of this page.

              Kind regards,
              Daniel

  3. thanks for getting back to me..he is doing the Gamma Delta T therapy and Lantolin. We are also looking to go to Germany for Dendritic Cell therapy. We will look at this website for additional treatments too. I have been unable to find any stats on the DC treatment in Germany though..Please pass on any information you have if any. Thanks

    1. thanks kris. I do not know Lantolin. Gamma Delta is indeed interesting. Regarding the DC therapy, I am not that sure … I do know a lady with melanoma who responded nicely to combo of DC+anti PD1 in low dose and was cured. But melanoma has high chance to respond to immunotheraphies. Another lady with triple negative is long term survival while her main treatments were constant TACE and DC. Not sure if DC was a reason for her survival. But I also know more people who did not experience benefits. Some even suggested a potential progression triggered by DC. Some clinics may promise a lot – make sure when you communicate with them you ask about statistics on survival improvement and cure rate – otherwise they might use misleading words such as “response rate”. I hope this helps a bit. Kind regards, Daniel

  4. My father has cancer on the base of his tongue (HPV-16 related squamous cell carcinoma). He is avoiding what the major cancer centers wanted to inflict upon him with radiation. Micro laser surgery is a possibility but has complications due to size of tumor.

    I found your site about a month ago….was greatly, greatly confused by all of the options from mebendozole to DCA, etc. etc.. but now bit less confused and finally able to ask a question. Thank you for all of your exceptional work.

    We are being told by local doctor that DC by RGCC is best thing to do. However, it doesn’t sound right as I was advised about RGCC immune support therapy in regards to after surgery, not before. Any thoughts on this and course of action?

    He started on curcumin orally per your research. DCA and Vit C IV to start next week along with PEMF.

    1. Dear Kim,

      Thank you for your comment. Indeed, I ended up creating a good amount of content on this website, sometimes diving a bit more into the science behind the treatments, while not creating a map to make it easier for the visitors to navigate through. So I understand it may be difficult to navigate through the information. There are many things that can be further improved around this website, and I intend to do that, but since now I have a full time job not related to oncology the time is limited to address everything I want. However, that will change in the near future. 🙂

      I indeed think it makes sense to have immunotherapies after debulking. (When the tumor is larger, there is little chance that DC will work, due to resistance mechanisms including acidity around the tumor that deactivates immune cells.)

      Tongue tumor should be accessible for topical application of various solutions. I know a man who was keeping under control his tongue tumor using a solution made out of 3BP and DMSO prepared in a way similar to the one I described here as a topical application https://www.cancertreatmentsresearch.com/3-bromopyruvate/ He was also trying other solutions made with DMSO (including Curcumin, Baicalein), since DMSO can nicely carry many substances inside the tumor.

      I would also consider making powder out of this drug https://www.cancertreatmentsresearch.com/pyrvinium-pamoate/ and mix with maybe 60% DMSO. This drug has amazing anti cancer properties but is little absorbed when taking orally. However, applying it directly on the tumor will avoid the issues related to bio-availability.

      When applying new substances on the tumor I would start with a small region only to test the reaction and not apply from beginning on the whole area.

      I would also consider using Cimetidine to reduce the chance of metastasis as stated here https://www.cancertreatmentsresearch.com/cancer-treatments/

      Anti inflammatory drugs and or supplements will very much help.

      Kind regards,
      Daniel

      1. Daniel, thank you for this detailed response. Your site is quite thoughtful in its approach/design. I have over 15 years in web development experience…your site is really well done. The attention to science with specific dosing and administration of therapies is incredibly helpful, a godsend.

        We will try these topical solutions. Picking up DMSO at the equine center. He starts DCA tomorrow at a clinic nearby. While my dad can’t wait to start, I am biting my nails, nervous of side-effects. Wish us luck! And may your holidays be joyous.

        1. Dear Kim,

          Thank you for your words of appreciation. The technical aspects related to the maintenance of the website start to take more and more time that otherwise I could allocate to research. Next to ddos attacks that I am now managing well, the database started to become heavier and heavier which makes the website slower than it should be. I hope I will do my best to solve this soon.

          Regarding the DCA, just make sure he starts with a lower dose at beginning. Always monitor what the doctors are doing. They have many patients, you have only one father. While most people are doing well at the right dose, there is always a possibility to see unexpected reactions – this is why first use lower dose, like half vs. what the doctor would start with. However, if your dad is doing well with the juicing, etc. maybe you do not need to start with DCA IV and only Vit C? If you are using Cimetidine, please read the points I’ve made here https://www.cancertreatmentsresearch.com/tips-on-treatments-a-list-to-be-constantly-updated/

          I wish you a lot of success and have a very nice holidays as well! Please keep us upto date with anything you find interesting regarding treatment options.

          Kind regards,
          Daniel

          1. Daniel,
            Very good point about only proceeding with the Vit C. He did not reach the highest therapeutic dose of this yet. He appeared to be having a die off effect last week – he was weak on and off with stomach aching. When he stopped frequency therapy he felt better. In any case, we skipped the DCA and instead he had Ultra-Violet Blood treatment and an ionic foot bath. He felt very well after this. His blood was a healthy bright red which is a good sign at this point. We will adjust the week of treatments. The doctor’s RN had indicated they’d reassess. Hope your holidays were grand. All the best, Kim

        2. This is just my experience but I never had any noticeable side effects with DCA, even at very high doses (I was at 32mg/kg I think).

          The only things I can think of is 1. mild peripheral neuropathy when I just started. I started at 25mg/kg, and upped it to 32mg/kg after 2 weeks of good tolerance and started to feel numbness so I went back down. And 2. When taken with certain things (I believe the Essiac tincture was one), I got extreme nausea for 5 minutes – almost throwing up. This wasn’t serious at all and went away very quickly.

          Just hoping to give some comfort. Good luck!

  5. Hi Daniel,
    I was hoping you would be able to give me a few answers about dendritic cell therapy. My mom is 5 months into her chemo regiment for her stage 3 ovarian carcinosarcoma. Her CA125 numbers have been great, around 5 or 6. The issue is she will soon be done with her chemo treatments and transition to more maintenance therapy. I believe they will use Avastin once every 3 weeks. With all of this treatment, the recurrence rate for her cancer is between 70-80%. I would really like for her to do dendritic cell therapy to lessen her chance of recurrence, but she is very hesitant. I was hoping you would be able to point me in the right direction when it comes to making this decision. I have heard about using the RGCC labs in Greece for the vaccine.

    Do you have any research or statistical evidence regarding the effectiveness of dendritic cell therapy?
    What exactly is in the vaccine that is given via IV?
    Is there any risks in doing dendritic cell therapy?
    Are there any websites or places you would suggest where she can read more about RGCC labs and/or dendritic cell therapy?
    Why don’t many patients know about or pursue dendritic cell therapy?
    Is there any further information about the dendritic cell therapy on the RGCC website?

    I really appreciate your insight as I believe this is an important aspect of her treatment. She just doesn’t believe that dendritic cell therapy is effective.

    Thank you very much,
    Sam

    1. Dear Sam,

      Thank you for your msg. What is the tumor size now if any? Is there any surgery planned?

      Regarding DC therapy, I think Dc treatment is most relevant to cancers know to have high response to immuno therapies, such as melanoma. Given that the vaccines are very expensive (about 4000 euro each) and required to use every month, and given the limited positive case response I heard of, I would not go for DC therapy unless the cost do not matter. Also, when going for such treatment option, should be considered a “background” treatment and not the main treatment.

      As a maintenance treatment I would consider the anti metastasis drugs and supplements listed on this page https://www.cancertreatmentsresearch.com/cancer-treatments/ Cimetidine is especially very good as an anti metastsasi but be careful when combining with other drugs as discussed here https://www.cancertreatmentsresearch.com/tips-on-treatments-a-list-to-be-constantly-updated/

      As an angiogenesis inhibitor TM may be very helpful:
      https://www.cancertreatmentsresearch.com/read-this-comment/

      I hope this answers your question and helps.

      Kind regards,
      Daniel

  6. Dear Daniel and all

    I found this website back in october 2017 when I was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer ( stg 3 B) . It was nice to find you after bombastic websites like TTAC or Chris Beat cancer . Thank you for your efforts and hard work.
    So in the past two years my cancer keeps coming back , and I am currently stg4 ( mets to skin and few spots on the lung). But, I am still here …..
    Currently I am taking a bunch of supplements and repurposed drugs along with chemotherapy ( Metformin, statin, doxycicline, Fenbendzole , Low dose naltrexone, aspirin, loratdine, CBD, high dose D3, fish oil, barberine, etc etc)
    Unfortunately, seems that cancer is becoming resistant to chemo and doctors are running out of the options and my skin mets are becoming larger and hurt like hell , so I started looking for more options besides my drugs.
    I came upon dendric cell therapy among others . While I searched I found a clinic in Latvia called Amber Life clinic. They offer Dendric cell therapy , Cytokine-induced Killer Cells Therapy , Rigvir ( oncolitiy virus) .
    They were very responsive but I wander if anyone has ever heard about them , are there any opinions out there and how effective would be these therapies.
    My financial funds are rather limited , so I have to pick my life-saving options very carefully
    Kind regards,
    Gabi

    1. Dear Gabi,

      I am so sorry to her about the difficulties. In my view, often the repurposed drugs and supplements you mentioned may not work because either the dose is not enough and/or the treatment strategy is not complete. For example, in the list of those that you mention is missing a strong glycolisis inhibitor. Can you please let me know if you already had access to 2DG metronomic?
      Are you located in Romania? (that is a guess based on your name)
      In order for us to generate ideas, it’s important to know what you used (conventional and alternative, including dose), and what you are using at this point.

      You may also want to have a look at the following:

      Bicalutamide
      Here is a case of a heavily pretreated woman with metastatic TNBC and AR expression who achieved a complete clinical response after 4 months of treatment with the AR antagonist bicalutamide.
      According to this article and case report, complete response could be obtained in some triple negative breast cancers when the patinet is treated with a common drug used for prostate cancer called Bicalutamide. Bicalutamide is a androgen receptor antagonist and it seems that 10% to 32% of the triple negative breast cancers have androgen receptors that can be targeted by Bicatulamide.
      Reference: Complete Response of Metastatic Androgen Receptor–Positive Breast Cancer to Bicalutamide: Case Report and Review of the Literature http://ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/jco.2013.49.8899
      So AR expression is key here.

      Estradiol
      Another form of estrogen receptor — called estrogen beta — is present in 25 percent of triple-negative tumors, as well as in over 30 percent of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer tumors. Research showed that the estrogen receptor beta is a tumor suppressor, which correlates with better patient outcomes.
      “Remarkably,” claims Hawse, “we discovered that estradiol, which normally stimulates [the] growth of cancer cells in tumors that express estrogen receptor alpha, has the opposite effect in triple-negative breast cancer.” https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323281.php
      Here is the research paper demonstrating the anti-cancer effects of Estradiol: ERβ-mediated induction of cystatins results in suppression of TGFβ signaling and inhibition of triple-negative breast cancer metastasis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30257941
      Mayo researchers identify potential new treatment for subset of women with triple-negative breast cancer https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-researchers-identify-potential-new-treatment-for-subset-of-women-with-triple-negative-breast-cancer/

      Clofazimine
      Towards the first targeted therapy for triple-negative breast cancer: Repositioning of clofazimine as a chemotherapy-compatible selective Wnt pathway inhibitor https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30771433 Wnt signaling is overactivated in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and several other cancers, and its suppression emerges as an effective anticancer treatment. However, no drugs targeting the Wnt pathway exist on the market nor in advanced clinical trials. Here we provide a comprehensive body of preclinical evidence that an anti-leprotic drug clofazimine is effective against TNBC. Clofazimine specifically inhibits canonical Wnt signaling in a panel of TNBC cells in vitro. In several mouse xenograft models of TNBC, clofazimine efficiently suppresses tumor growth, correlating with in vivo inhibition of the Wnt pathway in the tumors. Clofazimine is well compatible with doxorubicin, exerting additive effects on tumor growth suppression, producing no adverse effects. Its excellent and well-characterized pharmacokinetics profile, lack of serious adverse effects at moderate (yet therapeutically effective) doses, its combinability with cytotoxic therapeutics, and the novel mechanistic mode of action make clofazimine a prime candidate for the repositioning clinical trials. Our work may bring forward the anti-Wnt targeted therapy, desperately needed for thousands of patients currently lacking targeted treatments.

      Kind regards,
      Daniel

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