Exploiting the architecture of cancers may lead to their destruction
Friday, March 12, 2010 - 23:35
in Health & Medicine
To grow larger, solid tumors require a network of blood vessels to nourish them. Chemotherapy exploits these vessels to deliver toxic drugs, but is inefficient if the drugs cannot pass quickly enough from the bloodstream into the tumor. A new study describes a way of transiently making the tumor blood vessels leakier, allowing more efficient drug uptake. This work may ultimately enhance delivery of chemotherapies into tumor tissue.