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Purpose & Achievements

Fighting Cancer

At the Weizmann Institute of Science, more than 50 research groups focus on developing better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer. In fact, nearly half of Weizmann’s life sciences research is cancer-related. Institute research has provided critical knowledge about cancer in general – Weizmann scientists were the first to demonstrate that cancer can grow in stages – as well as about specific cancers, such as breast, lung, and prostate. The Institute’s collaborative teams are working to turn basic research into powerful diagnostic tools, drugs, and therapies to fight cancer – and win.

Weizmann by the numbers

  • We were first to clone p53, the gene involved in over 50% of all cancers

  • Prof. Hadassa Degani developed an MRI-based method called three time point (3TP) that identifies cancer without the need for painful biopsies. It is FDA approved for diagnosing breast and prostate cancer.
  • Our research led to the world’s first bone-marrow transplant between incompatible people

  • Over 60 research groups focus on cancer – that’s ~40% of all our life-science research

    Highlights

    08.05.2023

    Why Do Cancer Patients Lose So Much Weight?

    Wasting syndrome – a deadly cancer side-effect – might be diagnosed and treated early on, according to a new study
    05.03.2023

    Immunotherapy Drugs Step on the Gas

    Sometimes anticancer antibodies press on the gas and the brakes at the same time. New research might help them accelerate better
    08.02.2023

    Thugs in the Cellular Neighborhood

    Weizmann Institute scientists have discovered how mutations in the BRCA genes, particularly prevalent among Ashkenazi Jews, lead to recruitment of cellular “assistants” in pancreatic cancer
    08.09.2022

    Putting Liquid Biopsies on Solid Ground: Cancer Diagnosis from a Milliliter of Blood

    If larger studies confirm the results of a Weizmann Institute innovation, diagnosing cancer may one day be as easy as taking blood
    03.11.2021

    A laser focus on cancer

    Prof. Victor Malka’s laser research is a beam of hope for future cancer treatment