Pathway to revolutionary cancer therapies

Currently, immune checkpoint inhibitors — a form of immunotherapy — have received approval for over 25 cancer types. For advanced melanoma, particularly, outcomes have been remarkable. Merely 15 years ago, only 1 in 20 patients diagnosed with metastatic skin cancer could expect to survive for five years. Today, patients with advanced melanoma who undergo a combination of immunotherapy treatments enjoy a 10-year survival rate of 50 percent or more.

These progressions are rooted in decades of exploration across various institutions and are ongoing as researchers strive to fine-tune these treatments by focusing on the distinct characteristics of each patient’s tumor and immune system, as well as creating smarter immune cells that can adapt and survive in the body. This exemplifies the foundational process of scientific work that has, over many years, resulted in innovations in therapies and treatments.

The modern epoch of cancer immunotherapy can be traced back to 1891, when American surgeon William B. Coley introduced bacteria to patients with untreatable cancers, occasionally leading to the reduction of their tumors. However, lacking a comprehensive understanding of the mechanics behind this method — and during a time before antibiotics when the threat of fatal infection was significant — medical practitioners chose to prioritize surgery and radiotherapy over immunotherapy well into the 20th century.

Today, Coley is celebrated as the “father of cancer immunotherapy” for his groundbreaking contributions. Nonetheless, his legacy could have faded into obscurity if not for substantial federal funding in U.S. biomedical research post-World War II. It was this wave of funding for fundamental science in the latter half of the 20th century that permitted researchers to begin fulfilling the long-elusive goal of employing the immune system to combat cancer.

Transformative care, years in development