Welcome to OXiGENE Angiogenesis Blood vessels deliver oxygen and nutrients essential to a cell's survival. Tumors depend for their survival on tiny blood vessels that form as a result of a process known as angiogenesis.
Angiogenesis takes place primarily during embryonic development and is rare in adulthood.
In adults, angiogenesis occurs during wound healing, menstruation, pregnancy and tumor growth. During angiogenesis, a number of processes result in the formation of new blood vessels. Normally, blood vessel walls are made up of slowly dividing endothelial cells, which typically divide once every few years. In cancer, tumor cells secrete factors that induce endothelial cell growth and migration. The endothelial cells divide to produce more cells like themselves and eventually form into a new vessels.