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What does anti-angiogenic mean?

Page last modified on: October 10, 2008
Question from Lutasgram: I'm not clear on the meaning of anti-angiogenic approaches.
Answer —Andrew Seidman, M.D.: The word "anti-angiogenic" refers to any strategy that inhibits the blood vessels that provide oxygen and nutrients to cancer cells. The ideal anti-angiogenic drug would be specific only for the blood vessels that supply tumors and have no effect on other blood vessels that provide blood supply to normal organs and tissues in the body. Unfortunately, even "targeted" agents such as Avastin are not purely specific for tumor blood vessels. As evidence of this, Avastin can occasionally cause high blood pressure, blood clots, bleeding, and kidney injury. Hopefully, newer anti-angiogenic drugs will overcome some of these deficiencies. One such agent, Sutent (chemical name: sunitinib), is an oral anti-angiogenic drug that has been approved for treatment of kidney cancer and that has also shown promising effectiveness in breast cancer.

On Wednesday, July 19, 2006, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Targeted Therapies: What is Right for You?Andrew Seidman, M.D. and moderator Jennifer Armstrong, M.D. answered your questions about different kinds of targeted therapies and how they work.

The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.

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Meet the Experts

Andrew D. Seidman, M.D.Andrew D. Seidman, M.D. is an attending physician for the Breast Cancer Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and a professor of medicine, Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

Jennifer Armstrong, M.D.Jennifer Armstrong, M.D. is a breast cancer oncologist at Paoli Hematology-Oncology Associates in Paoli, Pa., with a special interest in physicians' communication skills.

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