Medical Breakthrough: Israeli Researcher Predicts Where Cancer Will Spread

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Medical Breakthrough: Israeli Researcher Predicts Where Cancer Will Spread

November 4, 2015 by evelinacohn

Medical Breakthrough: Israeli Researcher Predicts Where Cancer Will Spread

Reporter: Evelina Cohn Budu, PhD

An innovative technology developed in Israel may soon be able to predict the spread of cancer from one organ to another, potentially saving the lives of millions of people around the world.

The technology, developed at Israel’s Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, has been proven in preliminary laboratory trials, and is now entering into advanced testing using cells from patients undergoing surgery.

Assistant Professor Dr. Daphne Weihs has developed a unique biomechanical method for the early detection of metastatic cancer (a cancer that has already spread). At the metastatic stage, the original, primary tumor expands, invades and takes over more and more nearby tissue. A tumor that has become very aggressive “knows” how to send metastases to more distant tissues through the lymph and circulatory systems.

Metastases (secondary tumors) are usually more dangerous than the primary tumor because it is difficult to identify them at their inception. When they are detected at an advanced stage, treating them medically is more complicated and the medical prognosis is typically not good.