Personal Peptides Announces “Precision Medicine” Solution for Cancer Treatment
Houston, Texas (PRWEB) February 03, 2015 -- Personal Peptides, a provider of precision medicine based on genomic analysis, today announced the availability of a nutrigenomic tool for oncology: the ImmunoDiet™. The ImmunoDiet™ is a test that sequences the genome of individuals to provide oncologists and nutritionists with the information required to create a customized nutrition plan designed to improve the outcomes of cancer patients.
The ImmunoDiet™ is an example of the type of treatment referred to by President Obama in his recent announcement of a major biomedical research initiative that includes the collection of genetic data on one million Americans so scientists could develop drugs and treatments tailored to the characteristics of individual patients.
“Cancer patients should make positive lifestyle changes, that can include a better diet and more exercise. But those changes can be tailored with information in the genomes of their cancer cells,” said Jahan Khalili, Ph.D, Personal Peptides founder. “The ImmunoDiet test has delivered actionable information for every sample we've analyzed so far. We see cancers that mimic foods like spinach and pomegranate in addition to the most likely suspects, including cows and other mammals.”
Cancer can mutate to mimic certain proteins found in food, and consuming these foods has the potential to suppress the cancer specific immune system. Similarly, a strategy to avoid foods that may damage the cancer-specific immune system may help boost an ongoing immune system response against cancer. The challenge is that the DNA in each individual’s cancer is different. As a result, treatments must be customized for each person. Personal Peptides enables health and nutrition providers to counsel patients to manage their diets according to the individual DNA of their cancer with the aim of improving their outcomes.
About ImmunoDiet™
The ImmunoDiet™ is the only nutrigenomic cancer diet designed to prevent food-based suppression of cancer-specific immune response. Built to function like immunotherapy, this personalized food avoidance diet may prevent damage to cancer-specific T cells. The ImmunoDiet™ is offered as a one-of-a-kind tool for patients who desire to make safe food choices based on their individual cancer.
If oral tolerance is acting on the same T cells that are trying to fight a cancerous tumor, this may be stopped with the knowledge provided by the nutrigenomic ImmunoDiet™. Avoiding foods containing mutated molecular mimics, called M3 peptides, may help specifically boost one's unique anti-cancer immune response.
The food to avoid when you have cancer is your tumor. When mice are fed the proteins from their tumor, the cancer in the body grows 25% faster, in less than three weeks. Because cancer can mutate to mimic some foods, this experiment describes a path to guide a food avoidance diet. Extending this experimental benefit to patients is the mission of Personal Peptides and the hope embodied in the ImmunoDiet™.
Testing the ImmunoDiet™
Testing the efficacy of the ImmunoDiet™ in humans is crucial, even though dietary interventions are especially challenging as they should coincide with treatments administered by oncologists. Personal Peptides is currently conducting tests to determine patient compliance with food avoidance recommendations. The results will allow us to move forward with a study to determine efficacy. The efficacy study will likely be conducted with cancer survivors who have achieved remission with an immunotherapy. We will be able to measure clinical end points in addition to physically track the T cells which cross react with the cancer and foods.
The first ImmunoDiet™ participant was a Ph.D. scientist who understood the T cell repertoire, the foundation of all efforts in the field of immunotherapy and how immune systems recognise "self” from "non-self". The patient wanted to use an ImmunoDiet™ analysis on a suspicious mole removed a year prior. As moles can progress to melanoma and are sometimes excised as a precaution, this allowed the archived sample to be easily processed. For the doctor and the patient, the process is similar to requesting a second opinion.
When the sequencing of circulating DNA is more readily available, this testing can recommend food exclusions prior to diagnosis of frank cancer. This is how Dr. Khalili believes we can make the greatest impact in cancer.
Availability of the ImmunoDiet™
The ImmunoDiet™ is available through a client portal at http://www.immunodiet.com. Each patient must contact Personal Peptides to determine their eligibility. Personal Peptides provides the ImmunoDiet to patients who possess qualifying sequencing information. Those with solid cancers who do not already have their tumor sequenced may participate as well, though the delivery of the results will take four to six weeks longer to receive to allow for sequencing.
About Personal Peptides
Founded in Houston, Personal Peptides is the first company to develop a nutrigenomic tool for cancer patients, designed to improve their cancer specific immune system. By bridging the gap between the human immune system and personal genomics, Personal Peptides aims to provide individuals with the tools to sculpt their own immune repertoires.
For more information, please visit http://www.immunodiet.com
Tamarie Ellis, Personal Peptides, http://www.immunodiet.com, 503-746-8107, [email protected]
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