Angiogenesis and Cancer Therapy

Abstract

Cancer spreads by metastasis which is the ability of cancer cells to penetrate into lymphatic and blood vessels, circulate through the bloodstream, and then invade and grow in normal tissues elsewhere. It is this ability to spread to other tissues and organs that makes cancer a potentially life-threatening disease. Cancer researchers involve in the study of the conditions necessary for cancer metastasis have discovered that, the most critical event required is the growth of a new network of blood vessels. This process of forming new blood vessels is termed angiogenesis. Many angiogenic inhibitors have been identified and used for therapeutic purposes but have not proved very beneficial in terms of long-term survival. This could be due to the non-specific nature of these inhibitors which accounts for their high toxic levels. We believe the way forward is to identify angiogenic inhibitors which are specific to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or their receptors (VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2, VEGFR-3). These target specific inhibitors of angiogenesis which come with minimum toxic levels could be explored to develop effective cancer therapy.