Tumour angiogenesis articles from across Nature Portfolio

The benefit of combining antiangiogenic agents with immune-checkpoint inhibitors has been demonstrated in pivotal phase III trials across different cancer types, some with practice-changing results; however, other phase III trials have had negative results. The authors of this Perspective discuss the variable outcomes of these trials, considering factors that account for these differences and suggesting future initiatives for improving the outcomes in patients receiving these combinations.

Vasectasia is a newly described, non-angiogenic form of blood vessel formation induced by mesenchymal glioblastoma cells, and driven by endothelial cell responses to extracellular vesicles containing oncogenic EGFR.

To understand malignant progression, Yuan et al. delineate the complex crosstalk between cancer stem cells and their microenvironment that is initiated by oncogenic RAS.

The treatment landscape of renal cell carcinoma is rapidly evolving, especially with the introduction and approval of immune checkpoint inhibitor combination therapies. Clinical trial data show substantial improvements in patient outcomes, and now results in the real-world setting support the use of these combinations.

Fibroblasts become activated during wound repair and rapidly return to a ‘resting’ state, and are thus critical for normal tissue homeostasis and tumour development. A new study now reveals an important pro-tumorigenic role for the stress response in cancer-associated fibroblasts that may offer a new opportunity to limit tumour progression.

Elucidation of the mechanisms that drive tumor resistance to anti-angiogenic therapies is expected to improve treatment options. This report shows that endothelial apelin signaling promotes the migration of distant venous endothelial cells toward the tumor progenitor cell niche to support vessel expansion and sustain a normoxic microenvironment, and that it does so independently of vascular endothelial growth factor A.

Apelin is a multifunctional peptide that stimulates angiogenesis in a VEGF-A-dependent manner. A study now shows that apelin produced by intestinal endothelium drives VEGF-A-independent angiogenesis in intestinal crypts and is needed for the homeostasis of crypt-resident stem or progenitor cells.