Natural Killers!

My Natural Killers, in a bag!

I just finished one of the most significant treatments I will receive while being here at Angeles.  And, it only took five minutes!  The Bio-immune Cellular Therapy offered here at Angeles is unavailable in the United States, except through limited clinical trials (which often include drug therapies and radiation).  Today, specifically, I received an I.V. of my own NK cells (a type of white blood cell) which had been extracted from my blood on Friday and multiplied in the lab over the weekend.  The idea is to boost my own immune system to fight the cancer cells in my body.  The experience, I have to say, was rather anti-climatic.  The same lab tech that drew a bag of my red blood on Friday returned with a bag of cloudy liquid today.  She hung it, attached the line to my port, and drained it into my bloodstream in minutes.  The analogy often used for immune cells such as these is the soldiers of your immune system.  So I guess you could say the Marines have been called to duty and are now on an important mission to eradicate the invaders.  NKs vs. AML, it is on! 

For those interested to know more a quick Google search will turn up plenty.  I've also attached information from the "Functional Oncology Approach at Angeles Hospital" packet that outlines their treatment program.  I've first attached a blurb on Bio-immune Cellular Therapy and then the more specific Natural Killer info.  The packet was clearly translated from Spanish, but I think I've cleaned it up.  I want to add their statement from the cover of the packet, a synopsis of why we've chosen to come here.  "Angeles Function Oncology Treatment Centers recognize the importance of treating the whole person, and not only the symptoms of disease.  We take the approach of addressing the mind, body, and spirit as equal components of  health and well-being."  Also, check the links on the right for a video from Dr. Perez that explains the therapy philosophy here.

Bio-immune Cellular Therapy

Bio-immune cellular therapy is the most advanced therapy of its kind.  Throughout the extraction, manipulation and culture of specific linages of cells from the immune system (white blood cells) it is now possible to provide a high concentration of a particular cell line, such as Dendritic cells, NK cells, and CD34 cells.  These cells improve, enhance, reinforce and balance the immune response needed to fight disease.  Their proven uses array from autoimmune disorders, chronic infections, HIV to cancer.  Cell based Immune-therapies are proven to be effective for cancers where the immune cells such as lymphocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells, natural killer cells (NK Cell), cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), work together to defend the body against cancers and attacks by “foreign” or “non-self” invaders such as bacteria and viruses. Cancer immunotherapy attempts to stimulate the immune system to reject and destroy tumors.  In the beginning Immunotherapy treatments involved administration of cytokines such as Interleukin with an aim of inducing the lymphocytes to carry on their activity of destroying the tumor cells. This therapy lead to the extraction of the lymphocytes from the blood and culture-expanding them in the lab and then injecting the cells alone to enable them to destroy the cancer cells.

Natural Killer Cells

NK cells are a type of cytotoxic lymphocyte that constitutes a major component of the innate immune system. NK cells play a major role in the rejection of tumors and cells infected by viruses. They kill cells by releasing small cytoplasmic granules of proteins called perforin and granzyme that cause the target cell to die by apoptosis. Natural killer (NK) cells have been at the forefront of immunology for two decades. During that time, a great amount of information about these cells has been obtained. They are important in anti-infectious and antitumor defense and shape the adaptive immune response. In addition, they can act as immuno- regulatory cells. In recent years, the therapeutic potential of NK cells in cancer immunotherapy has become increasingly evident.