At a meeting on stem cells science and technology in Tehran, Dr. Theo Geijtenbeek, molecular and cellular immunologist from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, explained the importance of immune cell therapy and elaborated on various aspects of developing the science for use in treating incurable diseases such as AIDS and cancer.
The session is the fourth in a series of meetings organized by the Council for Stem Cell Sciences and Technologies on stem cell development under the auspices of the Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology. Council’s secretary general Dr. Amirali Hamidieh and a number of professors and students from various academic centers, attended the meeting, Borna News Agency reported.
A large number of Iranian youth are interested in stem cell research and want collective efforts in treating incurable diseases,” said Geijtenbeek, who is one of the pioneers in the field of immune cell therapy and a principal researcher at AMC (the university hospital affiliated to the University of Amsterdam).
Cancer is a major threat to public health and a huge burden on global health systems. Current treatments for the disease have been insufficient.
Immune cell therapy is a new technology that has the potential to alleviate much of the burden of these chronic and degenerative diseases in a cost-effective manner. It is a branch of cellular therapy or cytotherapy where the body’s immune system cells are studied and manipulated to fight malignant and fatal ailments.
“The future of stem cell research is at the mercy of this scientific field,” Geijtenbeek stressed, adding that immune cell therapy is not specific to treating cancers but the entire science seeks to target difficult diseases including, and in particular, AIDS.
A major part of healthcare spending worldwide is directed to immune cell therapy as the treatments could become a safe, efficacious, and cost-effective method to treat millions of cancer patients.
Appraising the vast potential in the country to develop and market safe and effective regenerative and cell-based therapies, he voiced readiness to collaborate with Iranian scholars and researchers in future projects.
