According to reports from NPR, Allison and Honjo worked separately to understand how the human immune system protects against cancer, which led to the development of a whole class of drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors, Keytruda and Opdivo which are potent ways to treat some types of cancers.
These drugs represent a whole new class of cancer treatment, different from the standard approaches of using chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.
The prize which is worth about $1 million and will be split between the winners during the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death on 10 December 10, 2018.
This is the first time the Nobel committee will award the prize for Physiology or Medicine for new cancer treatments.
Photo credit: Richard Drew/AP
Source: NPR
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