What is an angiogenesis inhibitor, and how might it help in the fight against brain tumors?
Brain tumor angiogenesis is another “near-future” strategy – one that is in clinical trials and, if successful, is five years away from becoming standard therapy. Brain tumor angiogenesis is a complicated terminology, but it comes down to something very basic: glioblastomas are tumors that tend to have a very significant blood supply from the brain. For example, if you look at an angiogram of a patient with a glioblastoma, you will see a huge number of new blood vessels that have formed. These vessels are important to the tumor because they feed it oxygen, glucose, and other nutrients. The glioblastoma is a smart tumor that has figured out a way to trick the brain’s blood vessels into giving it more of what it needs. The tumor’s cells do this by sending out a signal that stimulates the blood vessels to form new blood vessels. These new blood vessels feed the tumor, bring it more nutrients, allow it to grow and divide, and cause more problems. This cycle continues unless we can stop tho
