Nobel Prize for Houston Doctor at the MD Anderson Medical Center

Though there have been many recent breakthroughs in cancer treatment, 600,000 people in the United States die of the disease every year. Allison’s approach, as well as that of Dr. Honjo, focuses on the immune system, an approach that stimulates our natural defenses to recognize and destroy cancer cells, an action our immune systems, oddly enough, do not naturally take.

Results where other treatments failed

Research into cancer immunotherapy has been losing ground over the years. However, a handful of committed researchers and clinicians, such as Dr. Allison and Dr. Honjo, have never given up hope on an immunotherapy solution. Treatments stemming from Dr. Honjo’s work, in fact, has resulted in long-term remission for patients with metastatic cancers that had been considered untreatable.

Allison’s breakthrough was to block a certain protein in T cells that blocks their activation. This would then free up those cells to go ahead and attack the cancer. An antibody was developed to create this block. Called an immune checkpoint inhibitor, the drug, Ipilimumab (commercially known as Yervoy), became FDA approved in 2011 for some late-stage cancers. The results were nothing short of revolutionary, with 20 percent of late-stage melanoma patients going on to achieve 10-year survival rates following treatment.

Research is ongoing, but there are promising new drugs in this category currently in clinical trials to treat other types of cancers, including liver, gastric, cervical, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, colorectal, and head and neck cancers.

Never judge a book by its cover

A native Texan, Allison was studying for his medical degree at the University of Texas, Austin, when his focus took a sharp turn. He went on to complete a Ph.D. in biochemistry, focusing on enzymes and their effect on tumors. During this time, you could commonly find him playing blues harmonica in one of Austin’s many live music clubs. With his Jerry Garcia looks and impassioned creativity, you would never think that he would become the Nobel Prize winner he is today, though his innovations could well change the face of cancer treatment in the very near future.

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