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Updated: May 10, 2026

Intravital Microscopy of Tumor-associated Vasculature Using Advanced Dorsal Skinfold Window Chambers on Transgenic Fluorescent Mice
Published on: January 19, 2018
The tumor microenvironment and strategies to improve drug distribution
Jasdeep K Saggar1, Man Yu, Qian Tan
1Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto , Toronto, ON , Canada.
Abstract:
The microenvironment within tumors is composed of a heterogeneous mixture of cells with varying levels of nutrients and oxygen. Differences in oxygen content result in survival or compensatory mechanisms within tumors that may favor a more malignant or lethal phenotype. Cells that are rapidly proliferating are richly nourished and preferentially located close to blood vessels. Chemotherapy can target and kill cells that are adjacent to the vasculature, while cells that reside farther away are often not exposed to adequate amounts of drug and may survive and repopulate following treatment. The characteristics of the tumor microenvironment can be manipulated in order to design more effective therapies. In this review, we describe important features of the tumor microenvironment and discuss strategies whereby drug distribution and activity may be improved.
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