Press Event: MD Anderson immunologist Jim Allison awarded Nobel Prize
T cell discoveries led to game-changing treatment revolutionizing cancer care
Press Conference Event Details:
Date:
Monday, Oct. 1, 2018
Time:
10 AM ET
Location:
Edelman
250 Hudson Street, Penthouse
New York, NY 10013
Dial-in:
877-830-2596 or 785-424-1743
Passcode:
MD Anderson
Livestream:
mdanderson.org/nobelprize
Jim Allison, Ph.D., chair of Immunology and executive director of the immunotherapy platform at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, today was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for launching an effective new way to attack cancer by treating the immune system rather than the tumor. Allison will speak at a press conference in New York today to comment on this prestigious recognition and answer questions about his pivotal research in immunotherapy.
"By stimulating the ability of our immune system to attack tumor cells, this year's Nobel Prize laureates have established an entirely new principle for cancer therapy," the Nobel Assembly of Karolinska Institute in Stockholm noted in announcing the award to Allison and Tasuku Honjo, M.D., Ph.D., of Kyoto University in Japan.
The award recognizes Allison's discoveries on the biology of T cells and his invention of immune checkpoint blockade to treat cancer. Allison's work led to development of the first immune checkpoint inhibitor drug, which was the first treatment of its kind to extend the survival of patients with late-stage melanoma. Subsequent research has extended this approach to new immune regulatory targets in certain cancer types and stages, including melanoma, lung, kidney, bladder, gastric, liver, cervical, colorectal, and head and neck cancers and Hodgkin lymphoma.
Allison is the first MD Anderson scientist to receive a Nobel prize, the world's most prestigious award for outstanding discoveries in the fields of life sciences and medicine.
Transcripts and recording will be available following the event.
About MD Anderson
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world's most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. The institution's sole mission is to end cancer for patients and their families around the world. MD Anderson is one of only 49 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). MD Anderson is ranked No.1 for cancer care in U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospitals" survey. It has ranked as one of the nation's top two hospitals for cancer care since the survey began in 1990, and has ranked first 14 times in the last 17 years. MD Anderson receives a cancer center support grant from the NCI of the National Institutes of Health (P30 CA016672).
Contact: 713-792-0655 or PublicRelations@MDAnderson.org
/PRNewswire/ -- HOUSTON, Oct.1, 2018
SOURCE The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
