Jim Allison Won a Nobel Prize for His Cancer Immunotherapy Breakthrough (2018)
wired.com
wired.com
"We used to think that the development of cancer had nothing to do with our immune system since, after all, cancer is formed from the body's own cells. But now we know better. Tumours have found the switch to disable our immune system – that much is clear. So we need to protect that switch. One researcher, Jim Allison – who in my opinion is worthy of a Nobel Prize – has discovered that it is possible, in theory. A test involving melanoma patients revealed that 15 per cent of them were still cancer-free after six years. We are now investigating how various so-called 'checkpoint regulators' interfere with our immune response during the development of tumours and what we can do to counter this. When does our immune response fail? Is there more than one on/off switch?"
https://www.uu.nl/en/research/hans-clevers-erc-advanced-gran...
The whole array of immune system phenomena is very intriguing. It seems to span everything from physical responses like fever and inflammation to cellular and molecular mechanisms. Acquired immunity and vaccines (which curiously seem to fulfill some of homeopathy's promises, but from more rational guiding principles), viruses, HIV, and cancer somehow also figure in all of this.
The title is misleading,though.