Considered by the National Cancer Institute to be a “national priority,” anti-angiogenesis may now face a serious hurdle... Anti-angiogenesis is considered one of the hottest topics in oncology these days. Many believe that we have finally found a mechanism to destroy cancer that is highly specific and therefore virtually without side-effects. The reason is simple: cancers need new blood vessels to grow and invade organs and, except in rare circumstances, adults do not grow new vessels. So if we could just manage to inhibit new vessel growth we would be able to stop cancers cold. But this premise is being re-examined in light of Genentech’s recent “dear doctor” letter on its Avastin drug.
