Nobel winners in Medicine are heralded

Two immunologists, James P. Allison from the United States and Tusuke Honjo from Japan won this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine, for example, their work in a new approach to cancer treatment.

The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm declared the winner Monday.

This year's Nobel Prize represents a turning point in our fight against cancer. The discovery made by the two laureates concerns the ability of the immune system to attack cancer cells”, the Assembly said.

Allison studied a protein that functions like a brake in the immune system.

He discovered the potential for releasing this brake and the ability of immune body cells to attack tumors.

Honjo, meanwhile, discovered a protein in immune cells that can operate just as much as a brake but with a different action mechanism.

The two scientists will share the $1 million price.