Foreword

Article Outline

• Copyright

Agents that target tumor blood vessel growth are now established as clinically useful treatments for patients with solid tumors. This molecularly targeted treatment strategy has emerged from decades of rigorous scientific research by pioneers such as Judah Folkman and Napoleon Ferrara. In the late 1990’s, when the lay public first became aware of experimental antiangiogenic agents such as endostatin and angiostatin, interest in this area exploded. However, public understanding of the nature of anticancer therapeutic development and the need for careful clinical trials was limited, leading to frustration over the lack of an accessible antiangiogenic treatment modality with proven clinical benefit. Not until 2004, was this expectation fulfilled by the successful approval of the first antiangiogenic cancer treatment, bevacizumab, an antibody that targets the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Bevacizumab, in combination with cancer chemotherapy, is an approved treatment for patients with advanced colorectal cancer. This seminal advance has led to tremendous growth in the efforts to develop other targeted therapies that interfere with tumor blood vessel growth by altering the VEGF signaling pathway. In this review, Drs. Donovan and Kummar from the National Cancer Institute summarize the basic scientific background related to VEGF targeting therapeutics and they provide a clear and concise overview of the current status of clinical trials in this area. This excellent review article highlights an important area of clinical research that is vastly improving our treatments for patients with solid tumors.