New cancer treatment targets tumors by cutting off blood supply
There are trillions of healthy cells in the human body. Yet it takes only a single cell to go bad for cancer to begin growing. That cancerous cell then divides to create more cancer cells, which continue to divide and eventually form a tumor.
With this knowledge, many wonder if there are new ways doctors can stop cancer from growing so easily. Researchers believe one answer may lie in the basics of how the body creates new blood vessels.
"The human body naturally generates new blood vessels when it's healing from a cut or wound," explains
Ashok Bapat, MD, medical director of the Fox Chase Virtua Health Cancer Program at Virtua West Jersey Hospitals. "It does so through a normal process called angiogenesis. However, this same process also allows tumors to produce their own blood supply. And, these new blood vessels carry important nutrients to the tumor, allowing it to grow rapidly."
New medication
Researchers have been working to find a way to block tumor angiogenesis with medication. They believe it's the key to stopping tumor growth. "This new form of treatment is called antiangiogenesis therapy," says
Alan Weinstein, MD, medical and administrative director of the Fox Chase Virtua Health Cancer Program at Virtua Memorial Hospital Burlington County. "We recently started using bevacizumab, the first of these new antiangiogenesis drugs. Approved by the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in February 2004, this drug, combined with traditional chemotherapy, shows promise in slowing colorectal cancer that has spread throughout the body."
Dr. Weinstein emphasizes its importance: "The approval of bevacizumab for first-line treatment of colorectal cancer is indeed a breakthrough and a first for these agents that attack blood vessel production."
The research
FDA approval of this drug was based on two clinical trials that compared bevacizumab with chemotherapy to a placebo with chemotherapy. In both trials, patients receiving bevacizumab lived longer without a progression of their cancer. In one trial, these patients also had higher overall survival rates — 30% longer than patients receiving the placebo.
"It's important to remember that these new drugs are not a cure. But, they are a step in the right direction," says Dr. Weinstein. "They target tumors directly, sparing healthy cells and limiting the side effects normally associated with chemotherapy."
The
Fox Chase Virtua Health Cancer Program (FCVH) is at the forefront of cancer treatment with targeted bio-chemotherapy, advanced radiation oncology, clinical trials and genetic testing. For more information about FCVH or to make an appointment with a physician, call 1-888-Virtua-3.