The Technion’s story has been intertwined with Israel’s for more than a century, from laying the foundations for a new nation to shaping its future.
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Consider pancreatic cancer – the disease that killed Steve Jobs, e.g., despite the best medical technology money could buy.
Approximately 467,000 to 500,000 people die from pancreatic cancer worldwide each year. It is the sixth most common cause of cancer death globally. Due to its high mortality rate and lack of early detection, the number of deaths is projected to rise significantly in the coming decades. And no new drug to treat it has gained FDA approval – for 30 years! Moreover, survival rates are bleak: Metastatic (Stage IV): 3–6 months, though recent advancements may improve this. Locally Advanced (Stage III): 6–10 months.
Until now. “Optune Pax is an FDA-approved, wearable medical device that delivers non-invasive alternating electric fields (Tumor Treating Fields or TTFields) to the abdomen to treat locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Designed for daily use, it is used alongside chemotherapy (gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel) to disrupt cancer cell division, improving median survival to 16.2 months.”
There is a cool back story here. The late Technion professor Yoram Palti (he passed away in January, age 88) was a biophysicist, expert on cell structure, and taught at the Technion medical school. He had a wild idea.