New drugs help treat cancer and HIV

TUMORS once considered untreatable have disappeared and people previously given months to live are surviving for decades thanks to new therapies emerging from the work of three scientists chosen to receive a US$500,000 medical prize.

The recipients of the annual Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, announced yesterday, are being recognized for their studies of the immune system that have led to innovative treatments for cancer, HIV and other diseases.

They are James Allison of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; Dr Carl June of the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania; and Dr Steven Rosenberg of the National Cancer Institute. They’ll receive the award on September 26 in Albany, New York.

“Their research has given hope to many who otherwise faced a certain death sentence, and has inspired the work of hundreds of other researchers to investigate new pathways for treatment,” said Dr Vincent Verdile, dean of Albany Medical College. “Their impact on the development of cancer immunotherapy — and where it goes from here — is unsurpassed.”

Immunotherapy harnesses the power of the immune system to attack cancer cells and tumors. In the 1980s, Rosenberg theorized that stimulating white blood cells called T cells could provoke immune reactions. His work led to the first immunotherapy drug approved by the US FDA in 1992.

The drug is among a new class of genetically engineered antibody-based medicines that are transforming treatment for several kinds of cancer.