Immunotherapy trailblazer Jim Allison wins Lasker Award
September 08, 2015
Medically Reviewed | Last reviewed by an MD Anderson Cancer Center medical professional on September 08, 2015
For his groundbreaking work in immunotherapy, Jim Allison, Ph.D., chair of Immunology at MD Anderson Cancer Center, will receive the nation’s highest honor for clinical medical research.
Allison, who invented a completely new way to strike cancer by unlocking a shackled immune system attack, has been named the 2015 winner of the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award from the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation. The Lasker awards, in their 70th year, honor major achievements in basic science, clinical research and public service around the world.
“I’m honored and grateful to receive the Lasker award. As a basic scientist, I was pleasantly surprised, really kind of stunned, to receive the clinical award,” Allison said. “This award is also important recognition of the early success of cancer immunotherapy and its great potential to extend survival of cancer patients for decades and ultimately to cure some types of cancer.”
Allison’s research into the biology of T cells, white blood cells that serve as the immune system’s customized guided weapons, led him to develop an antibody that blocks an “off switch” on those cells, unleashing an immune response against cancer.
Drugs using this approach, called immune checkpoint blockade, now are approved for treating late-stage melanoma and lung cancer. Hundreds of clinical trials worldwide are underway in earlier stages of the disease and against other cancers.
Lasker recipients are chosen by a distinguished international jury to recognize major advances in the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, cure and prevention of human disease.
“Jim Allison found a way to remove the brakes that stop T cells from fighting tumor cells — a discovery that opens brand new and very effective ways to treat cancer,” said Joseph Goldstein, M.D., chair of the Lasker Medical Research Awards Jury, Nobel laureate and chair of Molecular Genetics at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
New, effective ways to treat cancer
The first drug of this type, developed from Allison’s research, was the first treatment ever shown to extend the survival of patients with late-stage, untreatable melanoma. Long-term studies show 20% of such patients treated with ipilimumab, marketed as Yervoy, survive for at least 10 years, previously unheard of results for the disease.
“The Lasker Award highlights Jim’s genius, creativity and passion to make an impact, all of which contributed to one of the most important therapeutic advances in a generation. One that continues to change the practice of oncology around the world,” said MD Anderson President Ronald DePinho, M.D. “As we explore the full potential of immunotherapy, countless cancer patients already have experienced renewed promise and health, thanks to this groundbreaking advance, and we remain hopeful for so much more.”
After an early career posting at MD Anderson, Allison returned in 2012 to lead its immunology department and establish the cancer immunotherapy platform, a combination of expertise and infrastructure that brings together scientists and clinicians to better understand and advance cancer immunotherapy.
The platform is part of MD Anderson’s Moon Shots Program, which is designed to harness scientific knowledge and develop new technologies that will dramatically reduce cancer deaths through prevention, early detection and treatment.
One of the platform's goals is to understand why some patients benefit from treatment and some don’t. Allison and colleagues also continue research to identify new molecules that block or stimulate immune response.
Allison is MD Anderson’s second faculty member to win a Lasker award. Emil Freireich, M.D., was honored in 1972 for outstanding achievements in chemotherapy combination treatment and supportive care for leukemia patients.
Founded in 1942, the Lasker foundation seeks to improve health by accelerating support for medical research through recognition of scientific excellence, public education and advocacy. Mary Lasker, who led the foundation for decades, was a prominent activist for public investment in medical research and is widely credited with motivating Congress and several presidents to expand federal funding, particularly through the National Institutes of Health.
Read more about Allison's discovery on MD Anderson's website.
Allison talks about his work in immunotherapy in this video: https://youtu.be/W8fUAvENkCo.
Topics
Moon Shots ProgramThe goal is to extend the number of tumor types that respond and find the proper combinations to get as many durable responses as we can. It’s an exciting time.
Jim Allison, Ph.D.
Media coverage of Jim Allison’s Lasker Award:
The New York Times:“The goal is to extend the number of tumor types that respond and find the proper combinations to get as many durable responses as we can. It’s an exciting time.”
— Jim Allison, Ph.D.
The Wall Street Journal: Lasker Awards go to scientists for cancer research, Ebola response
Houston Chronicle: MD Anderson researcher wins major scientific prize