Tookad means warmth of light in Hebrew, and Tookad is also an experimental drug that can be used for prostate cancer. Tookad is a chlorophyll based anti-cancer drug.

Chlorophyll is the plant compound that is active in sunlight. Since the inside of the human body is dark, a chlorophyll-based drug will be inactive until exposed to light.

Doctors can inject Tookad into patients and then activate the drug by inserting tiny lasers into the body and shining light on tumors.

The drug is being tested at University College London by Caroline Moore and by John Trachtenberg, director of the prostate centre at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Canada. Trachtenberg has seen prostate cancer disappear in 12 of his patients after re-biopsying them at 6 months.

The technique was developed by Avigdor Scherz, a plant biochemist, at Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and Yoram Solomon.

Steba Beheer NV, a Dutch company, is helping to sponsor clinical trials for Tookad.

In an abstract posted on the Weizmann Institute of Science's Website the authors say:

"In Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) a light beam is used to photosensitize a drug inducing cytotoxic processes with local tissue damage. PDT is currently used for local therapy of several cancer types and of ophthalmic age related macular degeneration. The specific anti-vascular strategy (VTP) developed in our laboratories is based on bacteriochlorophyll derivatives as sensitizing drugs targeted at the tumor blood vessels during a 5-15 min treatment session. VTP was shown efficient for treatment of various solid tumors (Table 1). This technique is presently under clinical trials for prostate cancer therapy in Canada, UK and Israel."

Source:
Vascular Targeted Photodynamic Therapy (VTP): A New Modality that Cuts Off
The Tumor Blood Supply Department of Biological Regulation and Plant Sciences

by Yoram Salomon and Avigdor Sherz

yoram.salomon@weizmann.ac.il
www.weizmann.ac.il/Biological_Regulation

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