When Cancer Co-opts the Vasculature — NEJM

When Cancer Co-opts the Vasculature — NEJM: Clinical Implications of Basic Research from The New England Journal of Medicine — When Cancer Co-opts the Vasculature.

We hear a lot about angiogenesis - here's some of what this interesting article has to say about it...

"The availability of oxygen and nutrients supplied by the vasculature is crucial for tumor growth and metastasis. The study of angiogenesis, the formation of new vessels from preexisting vessels, has provided a wealth of data on how tumors regulate this process and has led to new therapeutic approaches to cancer. However, an increasing body of evidence has uncovered an added layer of complexity: some primary and metastatic tumors can develop and progress in the absence of angiogenesis by co-opting the preexisting vasculature.1 The best descriptions of this type of malignant growth were reported initially in the lungs2 and subsequently in liver and brain.

The ability to identify vascular co-option in cancer is relevant to treatment for two main reasons. The first is that vascular co-option can cause resistance to antiangiogenic drugs; consequently, its identification will help to distinguish tumors that are more likely to respond to antiangiogenic agents. The second is that knowledge of the pathways that dictate nonangiogenic growth in cancer cells may lead to the identification of new candidate molecules for targeted treatment."

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