Immune checkpoint inhibitors win the 2018 Nobel Prize.

The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Tasuku Honjo and James Allison for their discoveries in cancer immunology. Professor Honjo was awarded due to his discovery of the programmed death molecule-1 (PD-1) on T cells. Professor Allison discovered another important immunosuppressive molecule: cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4). Suppression of T cell activation by PD-1 and/or CTLA-4 is considered one of the major escape mechanisms of cancer cells. Inhibition of these molecules by immune checkpoint inhibitors can successfully activate the immune system to fight cancer. Checkpoint inhibitors have brought about a major breakthrough in cancer immunotherapy, reviving the hope of curing patients with end-stage cancer, including a wide variety of cancer types. In metastatic malignant melanoma, the previous long-term survival of only 5% can now be extended to 50% with anti-PD-1 plus anti-CTLA-4 combined treatment in the latest report. More checkpoint molecules such as lymphocyte-activation gene 3 and T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 are under investigation. The achievement of Drs. Honjo and Allison in cancer immunotherapy has encouraged research into other immune-pathological diseases.

Huang PW ，Chang JW 《-》

Immune checkpoint blockade therapy: the 2014 Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science.

Chen YS ，Shen CR 《-》

[Cancer immunotherapy crowned with Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to James Allison and Tasuku Honjo].

Teillaud JL 《-》

[Immune checkpoint inhibitors. A breakthrough in cancer therapy].

Cárdenas-Oyarzo AM ，Bocchieri-Oyarce PA ，Méndez-Laport CR ，Zolezzi JM ，Ríos JA ... -  《-》

Nobel committee honors tumor immunologists.

Rotte A ，D'Orazi G ，Bhandaru M 《JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL & CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH》