Access
This article is part of Nature's premium content.
Published online 8 April 2009 |
Nature
458,
686-687
(2009)
| doi:10.1038/458686b
Corrected online: 30 April 2009
News
Cutting off cancer's supply lines
Targeting the blood vessels that feed tumours is not the silver bullet once hoped for, but refinements to the strategy may suggest further ways to treat the disease. Erika Check Hayden reports.
Drugs that aim to choke off a tumour's blood supply, known as angiogenesis inhibitors, have been hailed as opening a new era in cancer therapy. But a flurry of animal studies suggests that such drugs may in certain situations actually accelerate the spread of cancer.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Comments
Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email webadmin@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.
Based on the progress made so far it is hoped that the scourge of cancer if not totally eradicated will surely be taken control of in a few decades from now. While certainly, much progress (pertaining to several types of cancers) has been made so far, yet much still remains to be done in this discipline. Moreover, rapid advancements in gene related technologies have improved our understanding of the causes of cancer at the foundational level and also to some degree in totality. Though much progress has been made, yet in general by large the traditional approach of scientists in the study of cancer reminds one of: It was six men of Indostan, To learning much inclined, Who went to see the elephant, (Though all of them were blind), That each by observation Might satisfy his mind. The first approached the elephant, And happening to fall Against his broad and sturdy side, At once began to bawl: "God bless me! But the elephant Is very like a wall!" The second, feeling of the tusk, Cried: "Ho! What have we here, So very round and smooth and sharp? To me 'tis very clear, This wonder of an elephant Is very like a spear!" The third approached the animal, And happening to take The squirming trunk within his hands, Thus boldly up and spake: "I see," quoth he, "the elephant Is very like a snake!" The fourth reached out an eager hand, And felt about the knee. "What most this wondrous beast is like Is might plain," quoth he; "Tis clear enough the elephant Is very like a tree." The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear, Said: "E'en the blindest man Can tell what this resembles most: Deny the fact who can, This marvel of an elephant Is very like a fan." The sixth no sooner had begun About the beast to grope, Than seizing on the swinging tail That fell within his scope, "I see," quoth he, "the elephant Is very like a rope." And so these men of Indostan Disputed loud and long, Each in his own opinion Exceeding stiff and strong. Though each was partly right, All were in the wrong.
Dear Sir/Madame: Despite its pitfalls, inhibiting angiogenesis doubtlessly possesses great potential to shrink the bulk of the tumor in glioblastoma multiforme and constitutes an option for therapy worthwhile pursuing. However, the method remains symptomatic treatment. This horrible disease will only be beat, once the molecular signaling mechanisms are understood that induce astrocytes and microglia to divide. I have written about glioblastoma in more detail here: http://brainmindinst.blogspot.com/2008/06/glioblastoma-multiforme-octopus-in.html
This report neglect to mention our previous observation, published in 2007 (Cervi et al, Blood, 109(5):2139-46),in which we demonstrated inhibition of leukemogenesis in a transgenic mouse model overexpressing VEGF. In this paper we have shown that, if VEGF overexpression was induced before tumor initiation, VEGF alters microenvironment resulting in the inhibition of cancer progression. I believe this is the first evidence to suggest a negative role for VEGF in tumor progression. Unfortunately, none of the recent papers demonstrating similar results were sited our publication.