So, if angiogenesis is a tipping point between a harmless cancer and a harmful one, then one major part of the angiogenesis revolution is a new approach to treating cancer by cutting off the blood supply. We call this antiangiogenic therapy, and its completely different from chemotherapy because it selectively aims at the blood vessels that are feeding the cancers. And we can do this because tumor blood vessels are unlike normal, healthy vessels we see in other places of the body: Theyre abnormal; theyre very poorly constructed; and, because of that, theyre highly vulnerable to treatments that target them. In effect, when we give cancer patients antiangiogenic therapy -- here, an experimental drug for a glioma, which is a type of brain tumor -- you can see that there are dramatic changes that occur when the tumor is being starved. Heres a woman with a breast cancer being treated with the antiangiogenic drug called Avastin, which is FDA approved. And you can see that the halo of blood flow disappears after treatment.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 09:55:30 +0000
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