New cancer studies call anti-angiogenesis process into question

Two new studies that investigate the rate of tumor growth have shown that shutting down the protein that feeds blood vessels may actually cause tumors to expand faster. These studies bring into focus the need for additional investigation to be done regarding the blood vessels surrounding tumors and the effectiveness of drugs that attempt to decrease their growth. Drug studies have been disappointing when used alone but seem to have possible use when combined with chemotherapy treatment.

In a recent issue of Nature, scientists explain a process whereby mice are bred without the genes for VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor, which is essential to the generation of new blood vessels. In these specimens, which were also bred to grow mammary tumors, the blood vessels were organized but did not grow as much as in normal cases. In addition, the tumor grew and advanced in stage.

"Common dogma predicts that reducing VEGF makes the tumor smaller, but the tumor got larger," says David Cheresh, vice chair of the department of pathology at University of California San Diego's Moores Cancer Center and also co-author of the study.

Cheresh believes these finding to still be beneficial stating that although inhibiting VEGF may not stop tumor growth it may make the vessels more efficient at delivering cancer medications.

"When you reduce VEGF, the tumors grow bigger, but are more sensitive to drugs because the vessels grow bigger," Cheresh says.

Several drugs have been developed that follow the line of thought of anti-angiogenesis such as Avastin for the treatment of breast cancer and others. However, it is not certain that the findings of these studies explain the entire anti-angiogenesis process.

"The Nature papers are interesting in terms of the detailed mechanistic insights they provide, and support much of what is known about how VEGF works, but this information doesn't change our understanding of how to administer Avastin or its clinical benefit," Genentech said in a statement.

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