The world’s leading scientific journal, Science, has named cancer immunotherapy one of the most important scientific breakthroughs of the year. Treating the Immune System This is a bold and risky recognition of cancer immunotherapy. Cancer immunotherapy uses a completely different treatment strategy than conventional therapies – treating the immune system rather than the cancer cells themselves – by boosting the body’s immune system to fight cancer. In fact, the therapy has so far been effective for only some cancers and a small number of patients that even the choice of cancer immunotherapy as the top breakthrough of the year is debated within the journal Science. “Are we being irresponsible in naming a strategy a breakthrough that only reaches a small percentage of cancer patients and works for only some of them?” Science reporter Jennifer Kuzan Frankel asked rhetorically in an article. However, Science ultimately determined that cancer immunotherapy was eligible to receive the honor. Tim Appenzeller, managing editor of Science News, said, “Currently, strategies that use the immune system to attack tumors are only effective for certain cancers and for certain patients. It’s important not to exaggerate the immediate benefits it will have. But many cancer experts are convinced that they are witnessing the birth of an important new paradigm in cancer treatment.” Cancer immunotherapy dates back to the late 1980s. French scientist James Allison discovered that a molecule called CTLA-4 on the surface of T cells in the human bloodstream acts as a brake by preventing T cells from attacking invaders with full force. Scientists began to think: If CTLA-4 was blocked, would T cells be released from their restraints and then fight cancer cells at full strength? It was not until 1996, nearly a decade later, that Allison confirmed this suspicion using mouse experiments. The medical community was stunned when the results of a clinical trial published in 2010 showed that melanoma patients treated with CTLA-4 antibodies survived an average of 10 months, living four months longer than those who did not receive this treatment.