Dendritic cell therapy
Dendritic cell therapy (DCT)
Activation of the patient’s own immune system to recognize cancer cells and fight cancer on its own.
Disclaimer of liability:
The clinic in Germany that we suggest to you is one of only three clinics in Europe that are licensed and accredited to carry out DCT. We can send you copies of the licenses and approvals on request.
Manufacturing authorization for somatic cell therapeutics according to §13 paragraph 1 of the German Medicines Act,
DCT is part of “Integrative Medicine – Complementary Medicine” and is not intended to replace any therapy suggested by your doctor – it should be used as an additional therapy.
Once the tumor has established itself, it develops biological camouflage mechanisms to evade the immune system. The vaccination with your laboratory-activated dendritic cells enables your immune system to detect these camouflage mechanisms, recognize tumour cells in the body as dangerous and fight them effectively. As with a conventional vaccination, the immune system can develop an immunological memory against the tumor antigens, thus ensuring a long-term effect.
Enable the patient's immune system to become active and fight the disease on its own
Immuno-oncological therapies have changed the landscape of tumor treatment and have become an important modality alongside surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.
The DCT approach
The clinic develops personalized immunotherapy plans tailored to the individual needs of each patient. The doctor and biologists prepare a personalized “vaccine” that stimulates the body’s own immune system to effectively fight the tumor.
DZ’s – dendritic cells reprogram the body’s immune cells to recognize and attack cancer cells without negatively affecting healthy tissue or cells. They also enable the immune system to fight cancer cells as they change. This is because destroyed cancer cells release identifying information into the bloodstream that the immune system can recognize and attack when the cancer cells reappear.
This approach is in line with the principles of personalized medicine and ensures that each patient receives the most suitable and tailored therapy.
Dendritic cells - are antigen-presenting cells
The basis of the DCT program are immune cells – so-called dendritic cells.
The immune system helps humans stay healthy by recognizing bacteria and viruses, but it needs the help of the biotech lab to recognize cancer cells and harmful cells in order to attack and kill them.
It has long been known that the body relies on antigen-presenting cells to recognize foreign substances (antigens). These cells signal the presence of an intruder to the immune system and activate other immune cells, which then act against the antigen using various mechanisms. Antigen-presenting cells are dendritic cells.
A small number of dendritic cells are also found in the bloodstream. These cells were first identified by Steinman and Cohn in 1973. R. M. Steinman was later awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2011 for this groundbreaking discovery.
In immunotherapy with dendritic cells, a subgroup of the patient’s white blood cells, known as monocytes, is obtained either by normal blood sampling or by leukapheresis. In the laboratory, these monocytes are converted into antigen-presenting cells, in particular monocytic dendritic cells, through the supply of cellular messengers such as cytokines and growth factors.
Immature dendritic cells can take up tumor antigens or lysed tumor cells and display key components of these antigens on their surface, a process known as priming. In addition, dendritic cells can take up tumor antigens in the patient’s body, an ability that can be enhanced by the administration of specific cellular messengers.
Learn more: Philipp Dettmer, “The Immune System – A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps Us Alive”. From Random House L, L, C New York 2021
What does the treatment at the clinic in Germany look like in detail?
There are three appointments: one for the information session with the doctor, one for the blood sample and one for the injection of the activated dendritic cells.
- First appointment: Personal information meeting
The doctor will explain dendritic cell therapy to you and also advise you on further or additional therapies. This appointment always takes place on the day before the blood sample is taken from 2.00 pm.
- Second appointment: Blood test
200 ml of blood will be taken from you. The blood is then taken directly to the doctor’s clean room laboratory. There, the biologists begin to instruct the dendritic cells to find and destroy the cancer cells and multiply the cells from a few to several million.
Duration of the examination: approx. 2 hours – After the blood sample has been taken, you will receive a high-dose vitamin C infusion and a vitamin D3 injection, which is included in the price.
The laboratory needs 7 days to produce the corresponding preparation from the patient’s cells.
- Third appointment: Subcutaneous injection of the cells
This appointment takes place exactly one week after the blood sample is taken.
Duration approx. 2 hours: Administration of the injections under the skin.
Observation of the patient and a further infusion of high-dose vitamin C and an injection of vitamin D3.
What are the expected benefits?
The “root” of a tumor consists of tumor stem cells (CSC) and, in later stages, metastatic tumor cells (MIC). They determine the growth program of the tumor cells. They divide into a tumor cell, which multiplies, and again into a stem cell, which initially does not divide but remains inactive until it becomes active. It is now known that there are many differently mutated tumor stem cells in solid tumors. As the stem cells do not divide often, they cannot be reached with conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy. If these therapies are discontinued, tumor growth, e.g. in the form of metastases, can always resume.
The aim is therefore to prevent the growth of metastases. An immunological memory is also formed. This is based on T cells, which are instructed by dendritic cells. Only when the patient’s own tumor cell material is presented to the immune system as “dangerous” can it generate a specific and therefore effective immune response.
The procedure is:
- Safe and generally well tolerated:
It only attacks the cancer cells without damaging the healthy cells.
Natural in the sense that it uses the patient’s own immune cells - In contrast to CAR T-cell therapy, the immune cells are not genetically modified
- More than 20 years of clinical experience in Germany
- Easy to administer – subcutaneous injections.
This leads to:
- Reduction of the tumor burden
- Prevention of the growth of metastases
- Prevention of relapses and renewed illnesses.
Dendritic cells in cancer immunology and immunotherapy
A paradigm shift has taken place with the proposed immunological cancer therapy: The proposed immunotherapy is designed to enable the immune system to become active and fight the disease itself. This does not necessarily mean that the dead cancer cell is destroyed.
Instead, it is now assumed that a balance between the tumor and the immune system is more important, which leads to a longer overall survival time and at the same time to a higher quality of life.
Targeted against the tumor - without major side effects
Personalized DZ immunotherapy specifically targets the patient’s tumor while preserving healthy cells. As it uses the body’s natural immune response and focuses exclusively on the tumor cells, this method is free of significant side effects.
Side effects
Increasing clinical experience and the growing number of ongoing clinical studies show the following picture:
Flu-like symptoms such as fever, stiffness, tiredness, swelling and itching at the injection site are common side effects. These subside quickly on their own and rarely need to be treated or can be easily treated with antipyretic medication.
The side effects may also depend on the type and location of the tumor. In rare cases, other side effects such as nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased platelet count, anemia and typical reactions associated with injections or infusions have been reported.
The list of possible side effects on this website is not exhaustive and unknown side effects may also occur.
Contraindications
There are no data on the use of dendritic cell therapy during pregnancy, making it an absolute contraindication. In addition, isolation of monocytes from the bloodstream may not be possible if the patient’s complete blood count shows low monocyte levels. Other diseases, such as autoimmune diseases, may also be a contraindication, but must be assessed and discussed individually during a personal consultation.
Adaptation of the tumor microenvironment
The tumor microenvironment is the connective tissue scaffold that surrounds the tumor and interacts with it. This interaction has a direct impact on the growth of tumor cells and the efficacy of immunotherapy. Therefore, the tumor microenvironment must be considered and actively modulated as part of the treatment strategy Increasing micronutrient and vitamin levels.
The immune system needs sufficient amounts of micronutrients and vitamins to function optimally. If necessary, we offer targeted nutritional supplements to improve and optimize the immune response.
Visit the page: Metabolic and bioregulatory medicine
An additional increase in the effectiveness of immunotherapy can be achieved by a procedure known as “metabolic and bioregulatory medicine”.
Scientific foundations
Dendritic cell therapy was first described in 1973 and received worldwide recognition (Nobel Prize for Medicine) from Ralph M. Steinman in 2011. It is based on more than 20 years of clinical experience in Germany and has established itself as an important component of integrative oncology.
Clinical trials with vaccination with dendritic cells
How the DCT
FAQs - General questions about the DCT
Free advice on immunotherapy
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