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Immunologists James Allison of the United States and Tasuko Honjo of Japan on Monday won the Nobel Prize for Medicine for their research on how the body's natural defenses can fight the scourge of cancer.
The work of scientists has resulted in treatments targeting proteins made by certain cells of the immune system, which act as a "brake" on the body's natural defenses, which eradicate cancer cells.
Their discovery led to "a turning point in our fight against cancer," according to a statement from the Nobel Prize of the Karolinska Institute of Sweden.
The therapy "revolutionized the treatment of cancer and has fundamentally changed the way we view cancer management," the statement added.
Allison, 70, from the University of Texas at Austin, studied a known protein and developed the concept in a new therapeutic approach.
In 1995, he was one of two scientists to identify the CTLA-4 ligand as a T cell inhibitory receptor, a type of white blood cell that plays a vital role in the body's natural immunity to disease.
Allison has "realized the potential to release the brake and release our immune cells to attack tumors," said the Nobel Prize jury at the announcement Monday in Stockholm.
"I am honored and honored to receive this prestigious recognition," said Allison in a statement released by the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Houston, where he is a professor.
"Motivation for scientists is simply pushing the boundaries of knowledge. I did not want to study cancer, but to understand the biology of T cells, these incredible cells that run through our body and work to protect us, "he added.
Honjo, from Kyoto University, has discovered a new protein, the PD-1 ligand, which also slows down immune cells.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved anti-PD-1 antibodies as a new investigational drug for the treatment of cancer.
"For more than 100 years, scientists have been trying to involve the immune system in the fight against cancer. Prior to the major discoveries of the two winners, progress in clinical development was modest, "said the Nobel Jury.
Other cancer treatments have been awarded Nobel Prizes, including hormone treatment for prostate cancer in 1966, chemotherapy in 1988, and bone marrow transplantation for leukemia in 1990.
"However, advanced cancer remains extremely difficult to treat and new therapeutic strategies are desperately needed," said the Nobel Assembly.
The winners will receive their award from King Carl XVI Gustaf at a ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of the death in 1896 of Alfred Nobel, who created the awards in his will.
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