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| These changes are temporary for some and permanent for others. One of the major problems with the use of hormone therapies is that after a while the cancer can become not only resistant to the hormone antagonist, but it can actually become more aggressive and can feed on that drug. An estrogen-positive tumor, for example, may grow in response to estradiol and/or tamoxifen, and because of mutant receptor, the tamoxifen can actually stimulate rather than inhibit cancer. |
| For this reason, I would only endorse the use of tamoxifen and/or raloxifene for those female cancer patients who have chosen a conventional therapy course. I do not recommend using either of these drugs as preventive therapy, particularly in postmenopausal women. |
| Immunotherapy |
| Immunotherapy, also called biological therapy or cell-transfer therapy, is relatively new in the field of conventional cancer treatments. Immunotherapy works through the use of certain drugs designed to artificially mimic specific immune system substances called biological response modifiers, such as interferon, interleukin-2, lymphokine-activated killer-cells, and monoclonal antibodies. Another approach is to give the patient pathogenic organisms that stimulate the immune system while simultaneously attacking tumor cells. |
| Vaccines are being developed to prevent and treat certain cancers. At this time, there is also research being done that focuses on cancer vaccines that are unique to each individual. This research is seeking ways to isolate each tumor's genetic codes so that cellular aberrations may be treated through the use of personalized vaccines that will call up and utilize each body's own immune arsenal. 3,4 |
| The following side effects of immunotherapy vary according to the different types of treatment and are generally temporary: loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chills, fever, muscle aches, weakness, rashes, bruising, immune suppression, and easy bleeding. |
| When alpha-interferon was first discovered it was thought to be a major breakthrough in treating both cancer and HIV disease. When the body produces its own interferon, it does so through a complex process involving communication and harmony. We have only just begun to understand that |
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