Immunotherapy was named ASCO’s “Advance of the Year” each of the last two years.
In February, for the second year in a row, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) named immunotherapy the “Advance of the Year.”
It’s clear now that immunotherapy can provide long-term benefits to sizable subsets of patients with diverse types of cancer, and new clinical breakthroughs are happening all the time. Thus far in 2017 there have been eight immunotherapy approvals, with two immunotherapies (durvalumab and avelumab) gaining approval for the first time. These clinical breakthroughs were made possible in part by decades of discoveries made by Cancer Research Institute (CRI) scientists.
One of the most important figures who helped advance immunotherapy (and the science that supports it) to this point was Dr. Lloyd J. Old, who actually worked with Dr. William B. Coley’s daughter, Helen, at CRI.
Now known as the “Father of Modern Tumor Immunology,” Dr. Old directed CRI’s scientific and medical efforts for 40 years (1971-2011), during which time he made major discoveries about the immune system and cancer, and helped establish the scientific foundation upon which today’s immunotherapies were developed.
Learn more about Dr. Old’s contributions.
Image credit: Cancer Research Institute