Cancer: Stem cell therapy offers hope
Published on: Fri, Jun 06, 2025
By: David Thien Text Size: Dr Jaswant (left) receiving a memento from Dr Su. Kota Kinabalu: Side effects of chemotherapy can be treated with stem cell therapy, part of regenerative medicine that is touted as the future of healthcare to cure various diseases, including leukaemia. Oncologist at KPJ Sabah Specialist Hospital Dato' Dr Jaswant Singh, said immunotherapy helps in destroying or slowing down and shrinking cancerous tumours.
Advertisement 'It stimulates or modifies the immune system. Stem cell therapy and immunotherapy can be combined to create new approaches for treating cancer,' he said. He was speaking on the 'Future of Regenerative Medicine' at a 'Generative Medicine & Biotech' seminar themed 'Restoring Health Naturally' at Hakka Hall on Monday, organised by Biolive, AIBTL Biopharma and ABVC Biopharma. Stem cell therapy is known as regenerative medicine that promotes the repair response of damaged tissues or organs. "These stem cells grow in a lab and can be manipulated to specialise in specific types of cells. 'Potential diseases that can be treated with stem cell therapy include heart disease, stroke, COPD, respiratory infections, Alzheimer's diseases, Parkinson's diseases, and diabetes,' he said. 'Regenerative medicine aims to replace damaged tissues or organs due to age, diseases, and trauma. Examples of regenerative medicine include stem cell therapy, 3D tissue engineering, and regenerative injection therapy,' he said. The panel of speakers included former Director-General of Health, Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, Prof. Dr Su Yung Tsun, the Director of Taiwan Anti-Aging Medical Association and Associate Prof. Dr Angela Ng of UKM Medical Centre's Department of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine. Dr Jaswant Singh noted that Malaysians like badminton icon Datuk Lee Chong Wei went to seek treatment for cancer in Taiwan, which has proton beam radiotherapy that is sometimes used for very rare sinus cancers. Many other countries have yet to set up such expensive equipment. For example, the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Proton and Radiation Therapy Centre is the largest proton therapy centre of Southeast Asia and is also the first proton therapy centre in Taiwan, with costs lower than that of Singapore. Prof. Dr Su Yung Tsun, the Director of Taiwan Anti-Aging Medical Association said the government is very supportive of new treatments. Proton therapy uses protons (positively charged particles) to treat cancer. It may also be called proton beam therapy. It uses proton beams instead of x-ray beams. Protons release more energy after reaching a certain distance and then stop, while x-ray beams release energy before and after they hit their target. So protons cause less damage to tissues they pass through before reaching their target. Proton therapy causes the least amount of damage to nearby healthy tissues. In other words, unlike x-rays, which go through the patient and expose the body to radiation both before and after they hit the tumour, protons stop moving after traveling a certain distance. So the tissues behind the tumour are almost protected from radiation and even tissues in front of the tumour are exposed to less radiation than the tumour. This means that proton beam radiation can deliver radiation to the cancer while doing less damage to nearby normal tissues. Because there are so many critical structures close by, proton beam radiation can be used to treat certain tumours of the nasal cavity or paranasal sinuses. Right now, proton beam therapy is not widely available. The machines needed to make protons are very expensive, and they aren't available in many countries now.
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