Cryoimmunotherapy, also referred to as cryoimmunology, is an oncological treatment for various cancers that combines

cryoablation Cryoablation is a process that uses extreme cold to destroy tissue. Cryoablation is performed using hollow needles (cryoprobes) through which cooled, thermally conductive, fluids are circulated. Cryoprobes are positioned adjacent to the target in ...

of tumor with

immunotherapy Immunotherapy or biological therapy is the treatment of disease by activating or suppressing the immune system. Immunotherapies designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as ''activation immunotherapies,'' while immunotherap ...

treatment.

In-vivo Studies that are ''in vivo'' (Latin for "within the living"; often not italicized in English) are those in which the effects of various biological entities are tested on whole, living organisms or cells, usually animals, including humans, and pl ...

of a tumor, alone, can induce an immunostimulatory, systemic anti-tumor response, resulting in a cancer vaccine—the

abscopal effect The abscopal effect is a hypothesis in the treatment of metastatic cancer whereby shrinkage of untreated tumors occurs concurrently with shrinkage of tumors within the scope of the localized treatment. R.H. Mole proposed the term “abscopal” (� ...

. Thus, cryoablation of tumors is a way of achieving

autologous Autotransplantation is the transplantation of organs, tissues, or even particular proteins from one part of the body to another in the same person ('' auto-'' meaning "self" in Greek). The autologous tissue (also called autogenous, autogene ...

in-vivo Studies that are ''in vivo'' (Latin for "within the living"; often not italicized in English) are those in which the effects of various biological entities are tested on whole, living organisms or cells, usually animals, including humans, and pl ...

tumor

lysate Lysis ( ) is the breaking down of the membrane of a cell, often by viral, enzymic, or osmotic (that is, "lytic" ) mechanisms that compromise its integrity. A fluid containing the contents of lysed cells is called a ''lysate''. In molecular bio ...

vaccine and treat

metastatic Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then, ...

disease. However, cryoablation alone may produce an insufficient immune response, depending on various factors, such as high freeze rate. Combining cryotherapy with immunotherapy enhances the immunostimulating response and has synergistic effects for cancer treatment. Although, cryoblation and immunotherapy has been used successfully in oncological clinical practice for over 100 years, and can treat metastatic disease with curative intent, it has been ignored in modern practice. Only recently has cryoimmunotherapy been resurrected to become the gold standard in cancer treatment of all stages of disease.

History

Immunological effects resulting from the cryoablation of tumors was first observed in the 1960s. Since the 1960s, Tanaka treated metastatic breast cancer patients with cryotherapy and reported cryoimmunological reaction resulting from cryotherapy. In the 1970s, systemic immunological response from local cryoablation of prostate cancer was also clinically observed. In the 1980s, Tanaka, of Japan, continued to advance the clinical practice of cryoimmunology with combination treatments including: cryochemotherapy and cryoimmunotherapy. In 1997, Russian scientists confirmed the efficacy of cryoimmunotherapy in inhibiting metastases in advanced cancer. In 2000s, China, following closely with the exciting developments, enthusiastically embraced cryoablation treatment for cancer and has been leading the practice ever since with cryoimmunotherapy treatments available for cancer patients in numerous hospitals and medical clinics throughout China. In the 2010s, American researchers and medical professionals, started to explore cryoimmunotherapy for systemic treatment of cancer.

Mechanisms of actions

Cryoablation of tumor induces necrosis of tumor cells. The immunotherapeutic effect of

of tumor is the result of the release of intracellular tumor antigens from within the necrotized tumor cells. The released tumor antigens help activate anti-tumor T cells, which destroy remaining malignant cells. Thus,

of tumor elicits a systemic anti-tumor immunologic response. The resulting immunostimulation from cryoablation may not be sufficient to induce sustained, systemic regression of metastases, and can be synergised with the combination of

treatment and vaccine adjuvants. Various adjuvant immunotherapy and chemotherapy treatments can be combined with cryoablation to sustain systemic anti-tumor response with regression of metastases, including: * Injection of immunomodulating drugs (i.e.: therapeutic antibodies) and vaccine adjuvants (saponins) directly into the cryoablated, necrotized tumor lysate, immediately after cryoablation * Administration of autologous immune enhancement therapy, including: dendritic cell therapy, CIK cell therapy

References

External links

{{Sister project links
The Great Prostate Hoax: How Big Medicine Hijacked...

Immunologic Response to Cryoablation of Breast Cancer

Modern Cryosurgery for Cancer

Percutaneous Cryotherapy of Renal Cell Carcinoma Under an Open MRI System

Modern Cryosurgery for Cancer

Tumor Ablation: Effects on Systemic and Local Anti-Tumor Immunity and on Other Tumor-Microenvironment Interactions

Basics of Cryosurgery

Cryosurgery: A Practical Manual

Dermatological Cryosurgery and Cryotherapy

The Abscopal Effect and the Prospect of Using Cancer Against Itself

Tumor Ablation: Principles and Practice

Cryoimmunologie: Cryoimmunology: colloque

Metastatic Bone Disease: An Integrated Approach to Patient Care

Musculoskeletal Cancer Surgery: Treatment of Sarcomas and Allied Diseases

Prospects for cryo-immunotherapy in cases of metastasizing carcinoma of the prostate .
Therapy Cancer Cryobiology

History

Mechanisms of actions

See also

References

External links