Intensive research into immunotherapy for cancer is being carried out worldwide. Thousands of scientific studies on this topic are published every year. Within just a few years, the Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded twice for immuno-oncology research.

In 2018, James Allison and Tasuku Honjo were honored for their findings on stimulating the immune system's ability to attack cancer cells. The development of checkpoint inhibitors is based on these findings.

In 2011, the prize was awarded for the discovery of dendritic cells and research into toll-like receptors, which play a central role in the immunological response to therapy with oncolytic viruses such as NDV. This work was groundbreaking for immunological oncology.