Judah Folkman, whose medical theories led to breakthroughs in the fight against cancer, passed away

Death of a cancer research icon - Dr. Jonah Folkman

Dr. Moses Judah Folkman, whose medical theories led to breakthroughs in the fight against cancer, passed away Monday of a heart attack. It occurred while he was at Denver International Airport waiting for a flight to Vancouver to attend a medical conference.

Dr. Folkman is highly revered by friends and colleagues alike, regarded as one of the world’s top medical researchers and a hero in the eyes of many within his profession and even those on the outside. He was credited for breakthroughs in the advancement of treatments that prevent blindness as well as having played a pivotal role in the research that brought about the development of the first implantable birth control device that works below the skin.

Dr. Folkman’s theories in the 1960s and 70s were often ridiculed by his peers, and he was criticized for speaking publicly about his theories, which were unproven and went against medical knowledge at that time. The theory he would be most known for was angiogenesis, which held that tumors had to produce their own blood vessels in order to grow. Dr. Folkman continued to work relentlessly in the pursuit of his beliefs, and his perseverance paid off. After witnessing his increasing successes in treating cancer in mice through the method of using compounds that inhibited the formation of these blood cells, Dr. Folkman’s adversaries acknowledged his brilliance and offered to join him in his work.

Avastin, the first angiogenesis inhibitor drug, based on Dr. Folkman’s research, was approved in 2004 by the Food and Drug Administration. The drug has been proven to extend the life expectancy of patients by several years and sometimes without the side effects that chemotherapy patients experience. Today, over 1,000 laboratories are working on advancing that research and about 1.2 million patients are currently prescribed one of the 10 angiogenesis inhibitors that have approved so far by the FDA.

Dr. Judah Folkman’s humbleness despite his brilliance has also garnered him the respect of those he has mentored over the years and the legacy he has left behind is vast. Funeral services are scheduled for Sunday in Boston. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

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