Playing only one instrument may be not enough: limitations and future of the antiangiogenic treatment of cancer

Abstract

Angiogenesis plays an essential role in tumor growth, invasion and metastasis. After initial pessimism about the usefulness of the antiangiogenic therapeutic approach for cancer, interest has increased in the development of antiangiogenic compounds after the first clinical approval of an antiangiogenic therapy. The anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibody bevacizumab has recently been approved for use in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of metastatic colorectal and non-small cell lung cancer patients. However, no survival benefit has been demonstrated in anti-VEGF monotherapy trials, probably due to the high complexity of tumor angiogenesis regulation. Experimental and clinical data, including the approval of the multitargeted drugs sunitinib and sorafenib, indicate that exciting results, including tumor regression, can be expected from the combined targeting of different pathways in the tumor angiogenesis scenario. Several obstacles, including the high cost of new molecular targeted drugs make this therapeutic approach difficult.