Israel’s Liver Cancer Fight Gets More Urgent
As CEO of an Israeli biotech startup focused on liver cancer treatment, I’ve spent years studying the global landscape of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) — the most common form of liver cancer and one of the world’s deadliest malignancies. Recently, a policy shift in the United States has reinforced something we already knew: even in an era of prevention, the need for innovative cancer therapies has never been greater.
A Policy Change with Long-Term Implications
On December 4, 2025, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to end universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth. Instead of all newborns receiving the vaccine immediately, only babies born to mothers with hepatitis B or unknown status will get the birth dose, while others will begin the series later in infancy.
This matters because the birth dose prevents approximately 70-90% of perinatal hepatitis B transmissions — the infections most likely to become chronic and eventually cause liver cancer decades later. While the immediate impact may seem modest, even small reductions in vaccination coverage can translate into hundreds of additional HCC cases 20-30 years down the line.
Israel’s Strong Position — and Regional Realities
Israel maintains universal hepatitis B vaccination as part of its robust immunization program, and our country has been a leader in reducing vaccine-preventable diseases. However, we cannot view this issue in isolation. The Middle East region faces significant hepatitis B burden, with prevalence rates in some neighboring countries reaching 2-8% — far higher than Israel’s rate of less than 1%.
Moreover, global health is interconnected. Policy shifts in major economies like the United States ripple outward, influencing guidelines elsewhere and potentially emboldening vaccine skepticism. As a medical professional who sees the downstream consequences of infectious diseases, I find this concerning.
The Prevention-Treatment Paradigm
The reality is that prevention alone, even at its most effective, will never eliminate liver cancer entirely. Hepatitis B is just one cause; hepatitis C, fatty liver disease, alcohol-related cirrhosis, and other factors also drive HCC incidence. Globally, liver cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer death, with over 900,000 new cases annually and a five-year survival rate below 20%.
This is where Israeli innovation enters the picture — and why our work matters regardless of vaccination policy trends.
Israeli Biotech Rising to the Challenge
At BDUK Therapeutics in Jerusalem, we’re developing a novel approach to treating liver tumors that can’t be surgically removed. Our technology uses biodegradable porous microspheres that deliver chemotherapy directly to tumors while sparing healthy liver tissue. Unlike conventional approaches that permanently block blood vessels (problematic in cirrhotic patients who may need repeat treatments), our microspheres gradually dissolve, allowing retreatment if cancer recurs.
We’re not alone. Israel’s biotech sector is producing groundbreaking approaches to cancer therapy, from immunotherapy innovations to AI-driven diagnostics. This ecosystem of innovation is critical precisely because we face a future where:
- Aging populations worldwide will see rising HCC incidence even with good vaccination coverage
- Metabolic liver disease (fatty liver) is becoming the fastest-growing cause of HCC in developed countries
- Global hepatitis B burden remains enormous — over 250 million people carry chronic infections
The Path Forward
The lesson here isn’t simply that we should criticize policy changes abroad. Rather, it’s that robust prevention must be complemented by equally robust therapeutic innovation. Israel excels at both — maintaining strong public health infrastructure while fostering a biotech sector that punches well above its weight globally.
As vaccination policies fluctuate worldwide, the patients who will need liver cancer treatments 20-30 years from now are being born today. Some will be infected despite our best prevention efforts. Others will develop HCC from non-viral causes. Israeli companies like ours are working to ensure that when those patients need treatment, effective therapies will be available.
We’re currently preparing for first-in-human clinical trials at Hadassah Medical Center, collaborating with leading interventional radiologists to bring this technology to patients. It’s the kind of academic-industry partnership that Israeli innovation does best.
The CDC’s policy shift is a reminder that public health gains are never permanent, and that vigilance matters. But it’s also a reminder that innovation in treatment — the work happening in labs and medical centers across Israel — remains our most powerful tool for protecting human health in an uncertain world.
Prevention and treatment aren’t competing strategies; they’re complementary ones. As the global landscape shifts, Israel’s continued investment in both will serve not just our own population, but patients worldwide.
