This week's artwork was donated by a pediatric cancer patient who received treatment at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia . Angiogenesis is a process controlled by certain chemicals produced in the body. These chemicals stimulate cells to repair damaged blood vessels or form new ones. Other chemicals, called angiogenesis inhibitors, signal the process to stop.
Angiogenesis plays an important role in the growth and spread of cancer.
Because cancer cannot grow or spread without the formation of new blood vessels, scientists are trying to find ways to stop angiogenesis. They are studying natural and synthetic angiogenesis inhibitors, also called anti-angiogenesis agents, in the hope that these chemicals will prevent the growth of cancer by blocking the formation of new blood vessels. In animal studies, angiogenesis inhibitors have successfully stopped the formation of new blood vessels, causing the cancer to shrink and die. Whether angiogenesis inhibitors will be effective against cancer in humans is not yet known. The process of producing and testing angiogenesis inhibitors is likely to take several years.