News

The Nobel Prize in Medicine 2018 was awarded jointly to James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo for their findings on cancer immunotherapy

The Nobel Prize in Medicine 2018 was awarded jointly to American scientist James P. Allison and Japanese Tasuku Honjo for their pioneering approach to cancer treatment based on the use of so-called immunological checkpoints as therapeutic targets.

The Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm announced it on live internet and on social media. The two researchers, as stated by the Academy's motivations: “Cancer kills millions of people every year and is one of humanity’s greatest health challenges. By stimulating the inherent ability of our immune system to attack tumor cells this year’s Nobel Laureates have established an entirely new principle for cancer therapy”.

The researches conducted by the two scientists constitute a landmark in cancer immunotherapy or immunoncology, because they showed how different strategies for inhibiting the brakes on the immune system can be used in the treatment of cancer.