Activating the patient's own immune system
Every cancer is different and requires a differentiated analysis and personalized treatment. That is why we plan individual IOZK immunotherapy for each patient and create a tailored treatment plan.
The goal of IOZK immunotherapy is to activate the body's own immune defense against the tumor.
Personalized medicine – the right treatment for every patient
IOZK immunotherapy is an immuno-oncological therapy. Immuno-oncological therapy has revolutionized the treatment of tumor diseases. It has established itself as the fourth pillar alongside surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.
The IOZK offers the best conditions for optimal immunotherapy. We bring together everything that promises good chances of success: a team of experts—consisting of medical professionals and scientists—and a form of therapy specially developed by us, which is planned and tailored for each individual patient: IOZK immunotherapy.
The basis is a comprehensive laboratory analysis of the immune system. On this basis, our team of doctors decideswhich treatment method and follow-up care are most suitable.
Our approach incorporates all currently available methods of cancer treatment: from immunological treatment to traditional chemotherapy. The result is that each patient receives a tailored and personalized therapy.
IOZK immunotherapy consists of various forms of therapy, such as virotherapy, hyperthermia, vaccine therapy, and therapy with checkpoint inhibitors. This multiple therapy approach can be used to treat all solid tumors, such as brain tumors, breast, colon, lung, skin, or prostate cancer.
Targeted against the tumor – with almost no side effects
If the IO-VAC® vaccine succeeds in triggering an immune response against the cancer, this response specifically targets certain characteristics on the tumor cells that healthy cells do not have. This means that healthy cells are not damaged, making the therapy virtually free of side effects.
The initial treatment usually lasts five weeks. In principle, IOZK therapy can be started at any time during the course of the disease. However, the optimal time for treatment is as soon as possible after complete removal of the tumor. Contact should therefore be made with the IOZK before surgery so that the patient's own tumor material can be obtained for immunotherapy if necessary.
The IOZK team continuously monitors the patient and their immune functions. Depending on the patient's condition and the course of therapy, further immunological treatments and, in some cases, additional therapies may be used.
In numerous studies, researchers have been able to show that immuno-oncological therapies are effective across a wide range of indications, i.e., for a wide variety of tumor types, and are comparatively well tolerated.
Dr. Wilfried Stücker
Personalized IOZK immunotherapy can trigger an immune response that specifically targets tumor components and therefore does not destroy healthy cells. We achieve this by combining different forms of therapy.
IO-VAC® vaccine
The basis and key component of IOZK immunotherapy is the patient-specific vaccine IO-VAC®, which was developed in our laboratory. Put simply, in our laboratory we combine an oncolytic virus and the patient's own tumor antigens with the patient's own dendritic cells to create the personalized IO-VAC® vaccine. This vaccine can then activate T cells, which under certain circumstances destroy tumor cells or inhibit their growth.
The IOZK is the only institution in Europe to hold a manufacturing license in accordance with Section 13 of the German Medicines Act (AMG) for an anti-tumor dendritic cell vaccine, consisting of dendritic cells cultivated from the patient's own monocytes, which are loaded with tumor antigens from a lysate of the patient's own tumor cells with immunologically effective danger signals originating from the Newcastle disease virus.
virotherapy
Virotherapy is an integral part of IOZK immunotherapy. Oncolytic viruses such as Newcastle disease virus (NDV) are viruses that can infect and destroy tumor cells. When the virus replicates in tumor cells, the immune system can become aware of the tumor cells. The viral infection allows the tumor cells to be recognized as dangerous. This is an important prerequisite for the immune response against tumor cells.
hyperthermia
Modulated electrohyperthermia uses electromagnetic waves to heat and stimulate tumor cells. This causes them to display certain danger signals on their surface, which can also provoke and intensify an immune response.
Moderate whole-body hyperthermia uses infrared radiation to generate a fever-like increase in core body temperature. This passive increase in temperature can stimulate immune cells, which are responsible for tumor defense, among other things.
Therapy with checkpoint inhibitors
Checkpoints are control mechanisms of the immune system that prevent excessive activation. Tumors "abuse" these immune checkpoints to disable the immune defense against them. This is where checkpoint inhibitors come in: they inhibit these blocked signaling pathways, effectively releasing the brakes on the immune cells and allowing the body's defenses to fight the tumor again. However, PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors are only effective if there is already an immune response against the tumor.
Modulation of the tumor microenvironment
The tumor microenvironment refers to the framework of various connective tissue cells in which the tumor cells are embedded. It interacts directly with the tumor cells and influences their growth and the effectiveness of immunotherapy. That is why IOZK immunotherapy takes the tumor microenvironment into account and influences it.
Micronutrient and vitamin optimization
In order to function properly, the immune system must be supplied with sufficient micronutrients and vitamins. We administer these as needed in order to optimize the immunological response.
IOZK immunotherapy for various types of cancer
The multiple therapeutic approach of IOZK immunotherapy can be used to treat solid tumors, such as:
- prostate cancer
- brain tumors
- colorectal cancer
- breast cancer
