●The concept of “immunotherapy” was proposed as a novel therapeutic application of treating cancer following ❶ surgery ( tumor removal), ❷ chemotherapy (use of anti-cancer drugs to kill cancer cells), and ❸ radiation therapy (use of radiation to kill cancer cells).
●Cancer immunotherapy is a treatment which uses a patient’s immune system to fight cancer. It either removes the brake on immune cells, or strengthens its function, with the aim of attacking and eliminating cancer cells.
●No clinical investigations had previously shown immunotherapy as an effective application against cancer.
Achievements
●Discovered a protein (PD-1 molecule) on the surface of immune cells
●Showed that the PD-1 molecule functions as a “brake” to impede the immune cells from attacking the body’s own cells, and cancer cells make use of that mechanism to escape from immune attack.
●Contributed to the development of the “immune checkpoint blockade therapy” that uses inhibitory drugs (Opdivo, etc.) to prevent utilization of the brake.
