Most tumors release various signaling molecules to support their incessant growth, invasion, and metastasis . Some of these molecules, known as tumor angiogenic factors (TAF), are able to stimulate the formation of new blood vessels, which is crucial for the growth of tumors. Blocking the function of TAFs by chemical or biological molecules has been shown to shrink tumors or make them dormant, suggesting the potential of anti-angiogenic agents for effective treatment of cancers.
The first anti-angiogenic drug (AAD), which successfully inhibits the formation of new blood vessels and therefore suppresses the growth of tumor, was approved for clinical use by the US Food and Drug Administration (US-FDA) over two decades ago. At the time of this writing, numerous AADs have received clinical approval for treatment of various cancers in human patients. However, AADs in general have limited clinical benefits as anticancer drugs, even after two decades of clinical use.
A new review published in the Chinese Medical Journal on July 25, 2024, discusses new ways of employing AADs in cancer treatment to improve their clinical efficacy and recommends some methods to achieve this. " In some tumor models, tumor suppression of over 80–90% can be achieved with a single anti-angiogenic agent. The impressive effects of anti-angiogenic monotherapy make this an attractive potential therapeutic approach ," explains the author.
Currently, most of the clinically available AADs work by blocking the b.