Laboratory of Endocrine Oncology

Cancer development is tightly associated with endocrine activity. The research in our laboratory is dedicated to the investigation of endocrinological aspects of breast cancer, as well as other malignant diseases. We combine laboratory, genetic and clinical studies and conduct our studies in collaboration with the Endocrinology Institute of the Sheba Medical Center.

Recent projects:

Identification of klotho as a tumor suppressor in breast and pancreatic cancers: The klotho protein plays an important role in various physiologic activities and its deletion in mice results in pre-mature aging. We identified down-regulation of klotho in breast and pancreatic cancers and discovered the role of klotho as a modulator of signaling pathways in these tumors. Moreover, we found that restoring its expression can inhibit growth of cancer cells both in vivo and in vitro.

Klotho as a risk modifier for breast cancer among BRCA1 and 2 mutations carriers:A functional variant of klotho is associated with aging and other human diseases. We identified a strong association between the presence of the variant and the cancer risk among BRCA1 and 2 mutations carriers. This important finding may provide a novel tool for predicting cancer risk among these women.

Diabetes mellitus and breast cancer: We conducted a retrospective analysis and identified an association between diabetes mellitus and adverse prognostic factors in breast cancer. We also conducted a meta-analysis of published studies and identified significant correlation between diabetes mellitus and breast cancer risk. Following these discoveries we are currently exploring a role the hormone GLP-1 and of the novel anti-diabetic drug exendin-4 in the development of breast cancer.

Ido Wolf, MD; Tami Rubinek, PhD

Lab team: Lilach Abramovitz, PhD, Hagai Ligumsky, Shiri Shahamon, Ira Lojkin