Prof. Abraham Hochberg from
is interested in the following topics:
HEALTH-2007-2.4.1-1: Translating the knowledge on non-coding RNAs linked to the aetiology of cancer into novel diagnosis and therapy strategies.
HEALTH-2007-2.4.1-4: Novel cancer screening methods.
HEALTH-2007-2.4.1-6: Understanding and fighting metastasis.
HEALTH-2007-2.4.1-7: Improving targeted drug delivery to cancer cells for cancer therapeutics other than gene therapy.
HEALTH-2007-2.4.1-9: Innovative combination clinical trials for multimodal cancer therapy
Description of research Activity:
BioCancell Therapeutics, Inc. has developed a Patient-Oriented, Targeted Therapy for diagnosis and treatment of many types of cancer.
The Patient-Oriented, Targeted Therapy approach is based on the identification of particular genes that are highly expressed only in tumors. The regulatory sequences of these genes are used to drive the expression of a toxin gene exclusively within tumor cells, enabling targeted tumor-cell destruction.
The product developed using the H19 gene is a plasmid in which H19 regulatory sequences drive the expression of the diphtheria toxin A gene (DTA-H19). This occurs in tumor cells only, triggered by the presence of H19 transcription factors found only in the tumor cells. The selective initiation of toxin expression results in selective tumor cell destruction, enabling highly targeted cancer treatment.
Keywords: DNA based therapy , H19 Gene, IGF-2, metastatic colon carcinoma,
Bladder cancer, Pancreatic cancer, Ovarian cancer
Description: Regulatory sequences from H19 have already been used in our lab, to successfully target expression of a toxic protein, diphtheria toxin A (DT-A), in colon, bladder, ovarian, hepatocarcinoma cells in culture, in several xenograft and orthotopic animal models, and even in patients with bladder carcinoma, as well as in one patient with liver metastases.
Commitment: Research,Technology
Term commitment: Medium (1 to 3 years)
Expected results: This application seeks to investigate the potential utility of unique transcriptional regulatory sequences for directing tumor-selective expression of a toxin gene, delivered by non-viral vectors.
To expand our research in:
Bladder cancer (Partnets for clinical trial phase II)
Metastatic Colon Carcinoma (Partnets for clinical trial phase I)
Pancreatic cancer
Ovarian cancer
Contact Details:
Prof. Abraham Hochberg
Email: doron.amit@biocancell.com
Tel: +972-2-6585456
Fax: +972-2-5610250