The Ichilov Institute of Oncology (Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center) is the largest cancer treatment centre in Israel. Diagnostics, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and immuno- and targeted protocols are all delivered under one roof. Each week the institute runs 12–13 multidisciplinary tumour boards, discussing up to 150 complex cases.
Which cancers are treated at Ichilov
The department specialises in more than 50 types of malignant tumours. The most common are:
- Solid tumours: breast cancer (90% breast-conserving surgeries), prostate cancer (99% technical success of da Vinci Xi robot-assisted procedures), lung, gastric, pancreatic and colorectal cancer.
- Gynaecologic cancers: uterine, cervical, ovarian and vaginal.
- Haemato-oncology: acute and chronic leukaemias, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas, multiple myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes.
- Bone and soft-tissue tumours: osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, chondrosarcoma, synovial sarcoma, GIST.
- Skin tumours: melanoma, basal-cell carcinoma, squamous-cell carcinoma.
- Rare tumours: neuroendocrine tumours, peritoneal mesothelioma, pituitary tumours.
Diagnostics: an accurate diagnosis within 3–5 days
An accurate diagnosis is half the battle. According to the institute's data, in 34% of foreign patients the diagnosis is corrected after a second-opinion review, and 42% ultimately do not need the previously planned surgery.
Advanced imaging and lab tests
- PET-MRI — a combined modality available in only ~50 clinics worldwide. Preferred for head and neck tumours, brain tumours, lung cancer and neuroendocrine tumours. Lower radiation dose than PET-CT.
- Galleri test — a blood test detecting up to 50 cancer types at early stages from a single sample.
- Signatera (MRD) — minimal residual disease test based on circulating tumour DNA; detects recurrence months earlier than classical methods.
- Oncotype DX — genetic recurrence-risk analysis in breast cancer; lets ~70% of patients safely avoid chemotherapy.
- MIRA — diagnosis of breast tumours from 7 mm without compression or radiation.
- Oncomine NGS — 300-gene molecular profiling for personalised targeted therapy.
Surgery
- Minimally invasive surgery — laparoscopic for GI, prostate, uterine and ovarian cancers; thoracoscopic for lung cancer; SinglePort through a single incision.
- da Vinci Xi robot — high precision, minimal blood loss, discharge in 2–7 days. 99% technical success rate in prostate and cervical cancer.
- Organ-sparing surgery — mastectomy is replaced with lumpectomy plus reconstruction; partial nephrectomy is preferred over kidney removal; cervical conisation or trachelectomy is used instead of hysterectomy.
- 3D planning and custom implants — for orthopaedic oncology and reconstructive maxillofacial surgery.
Chemotherapy
- HIPEC — heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy for peritoneal metastases of ovarian, gastric and colon cancer.
- Chemoembolisation (TACE) — targeted drug delivery into the hepatic artery feeding a liver tumour.
- Isolated limb chemoperfusion for sarcomas and locally advanced melanoma.
- Sensitivity testing — DPD enzyme deficiency, HER2/neu overexpression, PD-L1 expression.
Radiation therapy and radionuclides
- Linac MRI UNITY and ETHOS — linear accelerators with MRI/CT guidance and real-time plan adaptation.
- Brachytherapy — implantation of a radioactive source directly into the tumour (prostate, cervix).
- SIRT — selective internal radiation with yttrium-90 for liver tumours.
- Alpha DaRT — alpha radiation for skin and breast cancers with millimetre precision.
- Lu-PSMA and PRRT — radioligand therapies for metastatic prostate cancer and neuroendocrine tumours.
- Radioiodine therapy — an alternative to surgery for thyroid cancer.
Immunotherapy and innovations
- Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) — used for PD-L1 over-expression; effective in ~30 tumour types.
- TOOKAD — vascular targeted photodynamic therapy for low-risk prostate cancer without removing the gland.
- ExAblate — focused ultrasound for prostate cancer and palliation of bone metastases.
- Cryotherapy — image-guided freezing of breast and kidney tumours.
- AI platforms — reduce targeted-protocol selection time from two weeks to a few hours.
Pricing and care coordination
The final quote is prepared after reviewing your medical records and depends on stage, scope of surgery and drugs used. Reference prices from our official rate sheet:
- Consultation with a leading professor — from $750
- Histology slide review — from $700
- Full tumour NGS profiling — from $3,200
- Robot-assisted prostatectomy — from $32,000
- Chemotherapy course excluding drugs — from $1,400
Every international patient is assigned an English-speaking medical coordinator who handles document translation, appointment scheduling and logistics. No prepayment is required — the bill reflects the actual services delivered.