Combination therapy reduces tumor resistance to radiationJune 08, 2007Radiation is used to treat a variety of tumors and the response of tumors to radiation is dependent on endothelial cell death, which in turn limits oxygen delivery to the tumor, causing hypoxia and tumor cell death. Recently, radiation-induced hypoxia was shown to trigger tumor resistance to radiation via the activation of new blood vessel formation (angiogenesis) through molecules known as HIF-1-regulated cytokines. In a study appearing online on June 7 in advance of publication in the July print issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Claire Magnon and colleagues from Institut Gustave Roussy, France, show that a combination of radiation treatment and the use of angiogenesis inhibitors such as canstatin is able to overcome HIF-1-dependent tumor survival pathways and increases tumor cell death. The authors found that following application of this dual therapy to mice, HIF-1alpha increased the activity of the canstatin-induced tumor apoptotic pathway, which lead to lethal tumor damage. The study demonstrates a crucial role for angiogenesis inhibitors in shifting tumor radioresistance towards tumor apoptosis and suggests that a combination of radiation and angiogenesis inhibitors could potentially be used to overcome HIF-1-dependent tumor radioresistance. Journal of Clinical Investigation | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Related Angiogenesis Current Events and Angiogenesis News Articles Pazopanib shrinks lung cancers before surgery Pazopanib, a new oral angiogenesis inhibitor, has demonstrated interesting activity in difficult to treat non-small-cell lung cancer, US researchers report. Joining forces against cancer In cancer therapy, the best results are often achieved by combining treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. Gap junction protein vital to successful pregnancy, researchers find Researchers studying a critical stage of pregnancy - implantation of the embryo in the uterus - have found a protein that is vital to the growth of new blood vessels that sustain the embryo. Without this protein, which is produced in higher quantities in the presence of estrogen, the embryo is unlikely to survive. Angiotensin inhibitors and receptor blockers linked to lower risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer The use of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) was associated with a reduced risk of basal cell or squamous cell skin cancers in U.S. veterans, researchers report in the August 26 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Normalizing tumor vessels to improve cancer therapy Chemotherapy drugs often never reach the tumors they're intended to treat, and radiation therapy is not always effective, because the blood vessels feeding the tumors are abnormal-"leaky and twisty" in the words of the late Judah Folkman, MD, founder of the Vascular Biology program at Children's Hospital Boston. Cancer therapy: A role for MAPK inhibitors combined with mTORC1 inhibitors Nearly a decade ago, while it was being tested as an immunosuppressive agent to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients, the drug rapamycin was also discovered to have anti-tumor properties. Since then, several rapamycin analogs known as mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) inhibitors have been tested in clinical trials for the treatment of various types of cancer. Drugs to inhibit blood vessel growth show promise in rat model of deadly brain tumor In a landmark study, Medical College of Wisconsin researchers in Milwaukee report that drugs used to inhibit a specific fatty acid in rat brains with glioblastoma-like tumors not only reduced new blood vessel growth and tumor size dramatically, but also prolonged survival. The study is the featured cover story of the August, 2008 Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism. Gladstone scientists identify single microRNA that controls blood vessel development Scientists from the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) and UCSF have identified a key regulatory factor that controls development of the human vascular system, the extensive network of arteries, veins, and capillaries that allow blood to reach all tissues and organs. Vitamin A pushes breast cancer to form blood vessel cells Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have discovered that vitamin A, when applied to breast cancer cells, turns on genes that can push stem cells embedded in a tumor to morph into endothelial cells. These cells can then build blood vessels to link up to the body's blood supply, promoting further tumor growth. New oral angiogenesis inhibitor offers potential nontoxic therapy for a wide range of cancers The first oral, broad-spectrum angiogenesis inhibitor, specially formulated through nanotechnology, shows promising anticancer results in mice, report researchers from Children's Hospital Boston. More Angiogenesis Current Events and Angiogenesis News Articles |
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