Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded to scientists who have developed a breakthrough cancer treatment

James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery of a type of cancer treatment that harnesses the immune system of a person, announced the Nobel Assembly of Karolinska Institutet this morning (October 1st).

"By stimulating our immune system's inherent ability to attack tumor cells, this year's Nobel laureates have established an entirely new principle for the treatment of cancer," the Nobel Foundation said in a statement.

Allison, a professor at the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, Houston, was studying a protein called CTLA-4, which inhibits a person's immune system by curbing the action of T cells. He realized that if he could release this "brake", the immune system would wreak havoc on the tumors. Allison has developed this idea into a new type of cancer treatment.

Meanwhile, Honjo, who is now a professor at Kyoto University in Japan, has discovered a similar protein that slows down the immune system. He discovered that this protein, called PD-1, functions as a T-cell brake but via a mechanism different from that used by CTLA-4. Honjo's research has led to the clinical development of treatment of cancer patients by targeting this protein.

According to the Nobel Prize Foundation, while both proteins have proven to be effective targets for the treatment of different types of cancer, PD-1 has shown stronger results for immune control point therapy. Targeting of PD-1 has shown positive results in the treatment of lung cancer, kidney cancer, lymphoma and melanoma. And more recently, scientists have discovered that the combination of the two targets may be even more effective in treating cancer, particularly in the fight against melanoma.

Honjo and Allison will share the Nobel Prize of 9 million Swedish kronor, or $ 1.01 million.

Originally published on Live Science.