Technion researchers secure funding for cancer investigations into pregnancy, cardiac issues and recurrence

Three faculty members from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have obtained research funding from the Israel Cancer Research Fund, an organization committed to transforming cancer into a treatable chronic condition through sustained support for Israeli investigators.

Professor Irit Ben Aharon was granted a Research Professorship to advance her studies on the consequences of chemotherapy delivered during pregnancy for the children involved.

Ben Aharon serves on the faculty of the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport School of Medicine, leads the Fishman Oncology Center at Rambam Health Care Campus and directs gastrointestinal oncology services at the same institution.

Cancer in pregnancy remains uncommon yet its frequency is rising amid higher cancer incidence in younger adults and delayed family planning. Prior clinical work has tracked offspring only into childhood, whereas this project employs a preclinical model to chart both immediate and extended outcomes, Ben Aharon noted.

Initial results suggest that certain effects in offspring follow a delayed course and surface in adulthood rather than earlier years, a pattern not previously documented in clinical reports. The team is now examining this late-onset health impact and methods to flag at-risk individuals.

Investigation of tumor backup survival mechanisms

Dr. Ido Livneh received a Project grant to examine secondary survival pathways that support cancer cells.

Although treatment progress has been made, many cancers remain incurable, Livneh observed. Patients often respond initially, yet disease returns later. The work tests the idea that malignant cells engage backup survival routes allowing persistence for months or years before resistance develops.

Livneh, a Ruth and Bruce Rappaport School of Medicine faculty member and graduate of its MD-PhD track who also serves as a diagnostic pathology resident at Rambam, combines laboratory experiments with patient sample analyses across cancer types to identify shared survival tactics.

Study of overlapping heart disease and cancer pathways

Dr. Shira Landau earned a Career Development Award to investigate biological links between heart disease and cancer and their mutual influence.

Landau, a Technion Faculty of Biomedical Engineering member and alumna, is creating a human heart-and-cancer Organ-on-a-Chip platform to observe tumor effects on cardiac tissue and vice versa under controlled conditions.

Heart disease and cancer rank as the top global causes of death, yet recent evidence shows reciprocal signaling that drives both conditions forward, Landau stated. The project centers on macrophages and their role in heart-cancer interactions, seeking mechanisms that could yield safer, more targeted therapies for cancer patients.