IMMUNOLOGY VIRTUAL CAFÉ

The immune system is made up of different organs, tissues, cells and molecules that work together to protect you from germs such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, or clear abnormal cells such as malignancies. It’s like an army, where everyone has a specific task and everyone works together in a very coordinated way.  

Causes of death have dramatically changed from 100 years ago to now, thanks to the development of vaccines and use of antibiotics. In 1900 top killers included pneumonia or influenza, tuberculosis, gastrointestinal infections while in 2010, major contributors of death were heart disease and cancer. Nevertheless, new infectious outbreaks continuously emerge in human populations, an obvious reminder of this being a recent pandemic of SARS-CoV-2, but also previous outbreaks of avian influenza, Ebola, SARS, MERS, Zika virus or HIV. 

In situations when immune system underperforms and does not clear aberrant cells, cancer can develop. More than 200 different cancers have been identified so far. What is known is that certain lifestyle choices increase risk of cancer, for example, smoking, excessive exposure to sun, obesity, but also some links of psychological disturbances have been made with cancer outcomes.