Dictionary:
angiogenesis inhibitor
n.
A drug that blocks angiogenesis in cancerous tissue, thus interfering with tumor growth or metastasis.
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Results for angiogenesis inhibitor
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n.
Oncology Encyclopedia:
Angiogenesis Inhibitors
Definition
Angiogenesis inhibitors are medicines that stop the formation of new blood vessels in and around cancerous tumors.
Description
Angiogenesis inhibitors are a group of medicines that prevent the formation of tiny new blood vessels to the area of cancerous tumors. Angiogenesis refers to the ability of cancer cells to form new blood vessels that invade the tumor and other surrounding areas. Tumors need a blood supply to nourish the cancer cells, and as tumors grow they must constantly form new blood vessels. These blood vessels are also used by the cancer cells to metastasize or spread the cancerous cells from one area to the next. Angiogenesis inhibitors are important because the scientific theory is that if one can remove and/or prevent the formation of new blood vessels in the tumors, the cancer cells will not be able to grow any further. This could cause the tumors to stay the same size or shrink. In addition, it may be possible to prevent the tumors from spreading by cutting off their ability to invade other surrounding areas through these newly formed blood vessels. There are a few drugs today thought to work as angiogenesis inhibitors, such as thalidomide. Additional agents being studied in ongoing oncology clinical trials.
—Nancy J. Beaulieu, RPh., BCOP
WordNet:
angiogenesis inhibitor
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
a drug that is designed to prevent the growth of blood vessels that nourish tumors
Wikipedia:
angiogenesis inhibitor
An angiogenesis inhibitor is a drug or a dietary component that inhibits angiogenesis (the growth of new blood vessels).
Examples
Known inhibitors include the drug bevacizumab which binds vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), inhibiting its binding to the receptors that promote angiogenesis.
Some common components of the Oriental diet (and to a much lesser extent, the Western diet) also act as mild angiogenesis inhibitors. In particular, the following foodstuffs contain significant inhibitors and have been suggested as part of a healthy diet for this and other benefits:
- Soy products such as tofu and tempeh, (which contain the inhibitor "genistein")
- Chinese cabbage (brassinin)
- Green tea (catechins)
- Red Wine (resveratrol) - Suggested only in moderation
Research
Research and development in this field has been driven largely by the desire to find better cancer treatments. Tumors can grow only if they form new blood vessels. By stopping the growth of blood vessels, scientists hope to shut off the means by which tumors can extend themselves and spread inside the body. In animal studies, angiogenesis inhibitors have successfully stopped the formation of new blood vessels.
In addition to their use as anti-cancer drugs, angiogenesis inhibitors are being investigated for their use in weight loss, as blood vessels in adipose tissue never fully mature, and are thus destroyed by angiogenesis inhibitors.
External links
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Copyrights:
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Oncology Encyclopedia. Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer. Copyright © 2006 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Angiogenesis inhibitor". Read more |
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