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Cancer immunotherapy pioneers win Nobel Prize
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James P. Allison, PhD, chair of the department of immunology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Tasuku Honjo, MD, PhD, professor of immunology and genomic medicine at Kyoto University in Japan, have been awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their separate work developing immune-based cancer treatments.
“As a basic scientist, to have my work really impact people was just one of the best things I could think about,” Allison said during a press conference. “I think it’s every scientist’s dream to do fundamental work, but then to have it translate into helping people is all the better, and to have it recognized by the Nobel committee is going to bring attention to these issues and the importance of basic science. There is hope for cancer patients.”
Allison conducted a study in mice in the 1990s that demonstrated CTLA-4, a molecule expressed on T cells, blocks the body’s natural immune response. He developed an antibody against CTLA-4 that inhibited tumor growth in mice, and that evolved into ipilimumab (Yervoy, Bristol-Myers Squibb), a successful treatment for advanced-stage melanoma in humans.
In 1992, Honjo discovered PD-1, another protein expressed on the surface of T cells, which led to the development of several PD-1 inhibitors used to treat different types of cancers.
“Allison and Honjo showed how different strategies for inhibiting the brakes on the immune system can be used in the treatment of cancer,” the Nobel Assembly of Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, said in a press release. “The seminal discoveries by the two Laureates constitute a landmark in our fight against cancer.”
This is the first time a Nobel prize has been awarded for cancer therapy, Allison said during the press conference.
In addition to serving as immunology chair at MD Anderson, Allison leads the immunotherapy platform for MD Anderson’s Moon Shots Program, which aims to understand why these drugs work for some patients but not for others through analyzing tumor samples. He is also co-leader of the Stand Up To Cancer-Cancer Research Institute Cancer Immunology Dream Team and a director of Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.
“We’re trying to understand mechanisms of what exactly goes on in patients — both when it [CTLA-4 inhibition] works and when it fails — and understand the reasons for both so that we can do rational combinations in the future to bring the benefit to more patients,” Allison said. “We’ve still got a lot of hard work to do, but the optimism comes from the fact that we know the basic rules now. We just have to work hard and learn the details and develop more personalized treatments for the majority of patients.”
Allison and Honjo will be honored at Nobel ceremonies in Stockholm in December. – by Cassie Homer