
Jim Allison Won a Nobel Prize for His Cancer Immunotherapy Breakthrough (2018) - Osiris30
https://www.wired.com/story/meet-jim-allison-the-texan-who-just-won-a-nobel-cancer-breakthrough/
======
j7ake
Jim Allison winning the Nobel prize was predicted by Hans Clevers back in
summer of 2015:

"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...](https://www.uu.nl/en/research/hans-clevers-erc-advanced-grant)

------
puzzledobserver
Is there an enthusiast or popular science-level treatment of how (human and
non-human) immune systems work? I am a computer scientist, years removed from
my last biology course, but I am curious. Ideally, I would like to know: What
is understood, and what is not? And which parts of this understanding rest on
dogma (not as a pejorative)?

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.

------
vmurthy
I read the article and it’s a great read. Nature never ceases to amaze us I
guess. Cancer hijacking the body’s safety mechanisms is a scary scary thought.

The title is misleading,though.

------
tomhoward
Another article about this posted/discussed a few months ago:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19535119](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19535119)

~~~
ncmncm
I missed it at the time, so I am glad it was posted again. Sayin'.

------
randcraw
Article is dated 22 Oct 2018.

~~~
fatjokes
Was going to say. Nobel Prizes are awarded in the fall.

