World First: Innovative Israeli Trial for Pancreatic Cancer
Ichilov Medical Center has begun recruiting patients for a world-first trial of an innovative Israeli treatment for pancreatic cancer, targeting a mutation in the KRAS gene. The treatment, SIL204, is based on siRNA technology and aims to silence the mutant gene. The first phase will include about 18 patients to test safety.
Ichilov Medical Center and the Israeli biotech company Silenseed are launching a groundbreaking clinical trial for pancreatic cancer patients, one of the deadliest cancers. The experimental treatment, SIL204, is based on siRNA (small interfering RNA) technology – short RNA molecules designed to specifically silence the expression of the mutant KRAS gene within tumor cells. About 90% of pancreatic cancer cases have a mutation in this gene, considered a key driver of tumor growth. The trial, the first of its kind in the world, will inject the treatment directly into the tumor in combination with systemic therapy. The first phase will involve about 18 patients to assess safety, and later the study will expand to about 166 participants in Israel, Germany, and other countries. Prof. Ravit Geva, director of the Oncology Institute at Ichilov, noted that "pancreatic cancer treatment is in the midst of a revolution." Ilan Hadar, CEO of Silenseed, added that this is a critical step toward testing whether targeted silencing of KRAS can become a new therapeutic option. However, the trial is in early stages and its primary goal is safety, so only future research will determine efficacy.