Current anti-angiogenesis drugs are focused on preventing the growth of new blood vessels that spread cancerous tumors. Twenty such drugs currently are in testing around the world, and the first two might hit the market fairly soon. They aim of these drugs is to turn off the tumor endothelial cells, thought to determine whether a tumor will grow. Others stop a later step in the process of forming new blood vessels, duringwhich metalloprotease enzymes break down normal tissue toopen a path for the new vessels to grow. A more recent approach by Dr. Judah Folkman, a noted cancer expert at Children's Hospital in Boston, and his colleagues focuses on another step in angiogenesis.
Tumors make substances that stimulate angiogenesis, as well as substances that inhibit it.
Two proteins that work as such inhibitors are angiostatin and endostatin, which Folkman is developing as anti-angiogenesis drugs. Endostatin will go into clinical trials this September. K Fl gstad . Visit the Sales and advertising .for advertisement information.