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Combination immunotherapy of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: a phase 2 trial. Barrera JL, Verastegui E, Meneses A, Zinser J, de la Garza J, Hadden JW. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2000 Mar;126(3):345-51. PMID: 10722007 The natural cytokine mixture is a collection of natural human cytokines induced from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. It contains IL-1, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, interferon gamma, tumor necrosis factor , and granulocyte-macrophage and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in nanogram quantities. It lacks IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, and IL-7. [...] This IRX-2 strategy uses perilymphatic local administration along with contrasuppression with low-dose cyclophosphamide and indomethacin and with zinc replacement therapy (as an immunorestorative). The data presented herein demonstrate that H&N SCC can respond very well to immunotherapy: there was a response rate of 100% in this series of 15 patients, with clinical reduction in tumor (1 complete response, 7 partial responses, and 7 minor responses) and histological evidence of tumor regression of 42%. Overall, the average combined estimated tumor reduction exceeded 70%. Also, patients with oral cancer noted marked analgesic and hemostatic effects from this therapy, with healing of oral lesions. [...] It is important to note that adjuvant chemotherapy is not used at INCAN. Many studies23 indicate that treatment with fluorouracil and cisplatin, the combination most in use, is effective for reducing tumors in the majority of patients; however, with no meaningful impact on survival, their routine use in the United States has recently been questioned.24-25 The expense, toxic effects, and lack of effectiveness of both drugs has made their use in other less affluent countries unwarranted. The current data on the use of IRX-2 in this and other protocols8-10 hint at improved survival, and a phase 3 randomized controlled study comparing this protocol with chemotherapy arm is to be initiat

The Author The author of this site is the British writer, John Davidson. Please note that the author is neither a doctor, nor a qualified health practitioner. Every cancer patient should always consult his or her medical practitioner with regard to the use of complementary remedies or treatments, and nothing on this site should be construed in any way as medical or therapeutic advice. It is simply the result of one person's search for solutions. Please read our disclaimer. About This Site Internet searches trawl up vast amounts of information about cancer, from a broad spectrum of viewpoints. The information and internet links on this site are for those seeking to augment the treatment offered by their hospital oncology (cancer) unit. Of course, a great many other internet sites concerning cancer can be found by keying the requisite search words into any of the major search engines. The content of this site was initially prepared, at the request of medical and nursing staff and others, some weeks after I had had an emergency operation for the removal of a colon cancer, and while undergoing chemotherapy in case any cancer cells had gone AWOL. There had been some escape of cancer cells into associated lymph nodes (3 out of 17, including the most distal), but no other tumours had been picked up by a CT scan. When I returned home from hospital in September 2005, with the help of friends, I started doing some research on cancer. I was amazed to discover that despite the billions of pounds/euros/dollars etc. spent on cancer research, and the many advances in understanding the numerous variants of the disease, the standard treatment for my stage of colon cancer is still a drug (fluorouracil, also called 5FU) that has been in use for more than forty years, has uncomfortable side effects, and which only increases the chances of survival after five years by 5 to 10%.

Erbitux (Cetuximab), a new drug which is used in combination with chemotherapy, increases overall survival in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, according to ImClone, the company which introduced the dr