Scientists clear the way to alternative anti-angiogenic cancer therapy
Belgian scientists attached to VIB and K.U.Leuven have succeeded in decoding a potential new anti-cancer mechanism. The researchers discovered that normalizing abnormal tumor blood vessels through HRG (histidine-rich glycoprotein) prevents metastasis of tumor cells and enhances chemotherapy efficiency. In tumors, vessels formation is disturbed, leading to inefficient delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs and allowing cancer cells to escape to other parts of the body (metastasis). The normalization of tumor blood vessel formation through HRG works by repressing the production of the Placental Growth Factor PlGF. Anti-PlGF therapy is now being tested as a new agent against cancer by ThromboGenics in collaboration with Roche. The recently discovered mechanism offers alternative possibilities for cancer treatment.