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Anti-angiogenesis
approach to fight cancer
In what has been termed as
the "fourth arm" of cancer treatment, (chemotherapy, radiation therapy and
surgery are numbers one, two and three) angiogenesis inhibitors have been hailed
as a significant advance in the long fight against cancer. Instead of aiming
their firepower at tumours themselves, anti-angiogenic inhibitors do not have
the harsh side effects of conventional cancer treatment.
CNN reported recently that
cancer needs a growing network of blood vessels to survive. Shutting down this
process called angiogenesis should arrest tumours or even destroy them. Recent
clinical trials of an experimental drug, conducted at Duke University, confirmed
that cutting off a tumor's blood supply could improve cancer
survival.
 
Researchers at
Ohio State University Medical Center (Columbus, Ohio), University of Kuopio
(Kuopio, Finland), and Creighton University Medical Center (Omaha, Nebraska)
have shown that Optivin significantly inhibits angiogenesis both in vitro and in
vivo, thus offering potential benefit in the treatment of related disorders such
as cancer and inflammation.
"For the past 50
years, almost all cancer therapy has been aimed at the cancer cell. But this
cell can quickly become drug-resistant and conventional therapy has harsh side
effects. Unlike chemotherapy, angiogenic inhibitors will be used on a long-term
basis because they are non-toxic and do not generate drug resistance."
Dr. Judah Folkman
World-renowned Harvard surgeon,
Founding father of
Angiogenesis
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