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Updated: Aug 26, 2026
Monitoring Functionality and Morphology of Vasculature Recruited by Factors Secreted by Fast-growing Tumor-generating Cells
Published on: November 23, 2014
Molecular targeting of angiogenesis
Patrizia Alessi1, Christina Ebbinghaus, Dario Neri
1Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Building 36 M14, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Abstract:
The majority of pharmacological approaches for the treatment of solid tumors suffer from poor selectivity, thus limiting dose escalation (i.e., the doses of drug which are required to kill tumor cells cause unacceptable toxicities to normal tissues). The situation is made more dramatic by the fact that the majority of anticancer drugs accumulate preferentially in normal tissues rather than in neoplastic sites, due to the irregular vasculature and to the high interstitial pressure of solid tumors. One avenue towards the development of more efficacious and better tolerated anti-cancer drugs relies on the targeted delivery of therapeutic agents to the tumor environment, thus sparing normal tissues. Molecular markers which are selectively expressed in the stroma and in neo-vascular sites of aggressive solid tumors appear to be particularly suited for ligand-based tumor targeting strategies. Tumor blood vessels are accessible to agents coming from the bloodstream, and their occlusion may result in an avalanche of tumor cell death. Furthermore, endothelial cells and stromal cells are genetically more stable than tumor cells and can produce abundant markers, which are ideally suited for tumor targeting strategies. This review focuses on recent advances in the development of ligands for the selective targeting of tumor blood vessels and new blood vessels in other angiogenesis-related diseases.
Insights
Targeted drug delivery improves cancer treatment by concentrating medication in tumors, minimizing harm to healthy tissues. This approach utilizes molecular markers on tumor blood vessels for enhanced efficacy and reduced side effects.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pharmacology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Conventional chemotherapy for solid tumors lacks selectivity, leading to dose-limiting toxicities in normal tissues.
- Anticancer drugs often accumulate in healthy tissues due to tumor microenvironment characteristics like irregular vasculature.
- Targeted delivery strategies aim to enhance therapeutic efficacy and reduce systemic side effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advances in developing ligands for selective targeting of tumor vasculature.
- To explore the potential of targeting tumor blood vessels and neovasculature in angiogenesis-related diseases.
Main Methods:
- Focus on ligand-based targeting strategies utilizing molecular markers on tumor stromal and neovascular sites.
- Review of approaches for selective delivery of therapeutic agents to the tumor environment.
- Discussion of targeting tumor vasculature for therapeutic intervention.
Main Results:
- Molecular markers on tumor stroma and neovasculature are suitable for ligand-based targeting.
- Targeting tumor blood vessels can lead to significant tumor cell death.
- Endothelial and stromal cells offer stable targets for drug delivery.
Conclusions:
- Ligand-based targeting of tumor vasculature represents a promising strategy for developing more effective and tolerable cancer therapies.
- Targeting neovasculature in angiogenesis-related diseases holds therapeutic potential.
- Selective delivery to tumor sites can overcome limitations of conventional chemotherapy.
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