Ang Magiting - The Official Web Site of Rotary Club Makati North

A New Look At The Immune System

By: Sec. Bob Hecks
October 5, 2011

The meeting revolved strongly around our guest speaker, an expert in clinical diagnosis of medical disorders. Dr. Francis Chung talked to us about “Autologous Dendritic Cell Transplantation as a Complementary Treatment for Cancer.” That was well communicated to us well ahead of the event, and it attracted a full house. Visitors included a team of Visiting Rotarian ladies from R.C. Makati San Lorenzo, at Pres. Archie’s invitation.

Autologous means sourcing of a treatment substance from another part of the body of the patient. Dendrites are specialized parts of a cell which transmit nerve impulses into the cell body. Both are involved with the immune process by which the body defends itself against pathogens. In recent years discoveries about the immune process have shown its links with allergy and other disorders in which an external pathogen is not necessarily involved. Dr. Chung’s talk centered around the treatment of cancer and the possibility, in the future, that immunization will help to prevent cancer. This is part of the growing potential of individualized medicine about which we hear so much these days. It includes genetic manipulation – a topic which caused some amusement and some concern among us listeners.

PP Joe Reaño introduced Dr. Francis Chung, remarking how well qualified Dr. Chung is to do research abroad, but he patriotically decides to stay in the Philippines. His responsibilities as a Consultant include Clinical and Molecular Diagnosis at the Lung Center, and at the Molecular Diagnostic and Cellular Therapeutics Lab. He is an Associate Professor at the UP College of Medicine, Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Almost all of the topics included in the above description of Dr. Chung’s jobs were included in his comprehensive talk which was well illustrated on screen.

“Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into cells which can be programmed to become part of any organ system needing repair.” …. “Dendritic cell-based immunotherapy is providing the foundations for a new wave of therapeutic vaccines.” At present, vaccines are almost entirely used for prevention. Today, immune system discoveries have helped scientists understand why the immune system sometimes attacks its own tissues, paving the way for new methods to fight inflammatory diseases. They have made possible, for instance, improved vaccines against infections and in attempts to stimulate the immune system to attack tumors.