Angiogenesis as a new target for cancer treatment

Neovascularization is often required for rapid growth of solid tumors and also limits vascular metastasis of tumor cells. Neovascularization-targeting agents are a recent innovation that may be a novel means of anticancer therapy. These antiangiogenic drugs have been developed by targeting cell proliferation of vascular endothelial cells, basement-membrane-degrading enzymes, angiogenic factors/receptors, extracellular matrix, angiogenesis signaling, and cell-cell/cell-matrix interactions. In this report, we describe how tumor angiogenesis occurs and how antiangiogenic agents are developed.