Anti Angiogenesis Drugs

Angiogenesis occurs when new blood vessels form within the body. In healthy people, this is a normal process that helps heal wounds. However, in a mesothelioma patient, angiogenesis feeds the growth of cancerous tumors.

Malignant tumors signal surrounding blood vessels by releasing naturally occurring proteins known as Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors (VEGF). This secretion causes blood vessel growth into the tumor, supplying the oxygen and nutrients needed for its expansion. Without this help from blood vessels, new cancerous tumors cannot grow past a certain size.

Many mesothelioma patients have high levels of VEGF. Luckily, research has found a new group of anti-angiogenesis drugs that can help stop the production of these proteins. This will prohibit new blood vessels from forming and ideally stop the growth of the tumor.

A relatively new development in cancer treatment, anti-angiogenesis drugs has proved more successful in animals than in humans. In animals, these drugs have killed and shrank cancer cells. Researchers believe human testing will eventually produce similar results.