Biochemical Dialogue Promotes Cancer Cell Growth

They reported in the December 19, 2003, online edition of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal that ExTek reduced tumor cell survival, retarded tumor growth, and inhibited angiogenesis onset compared with controls. bFGF increased tumor cell survival and promoted earlier angiogenesis and tumor growth. Neither bFGF nor ExTek affected cell proliferation in vitro.

"We have demonstrated a give-and-take relationship in which cancer cells release signals to nearby blood vessels to stimulate new vessel growth, and in turn, blood vessels release signals that sustain the migrating cancer cells as they try to establish themselves in new tissue,” explained senior author Dr. Mark Dewhirst, a professor in the department of radiation oncology at Duke University Medical Center. "Our data show that blood vessel endothelial cells are involved in cancer survival and growth at a far earlier stage than we had originally believed. This discovery energizes our efforts to block these signals from being released and to inhibit new blood vessels from forming.”



Related Links:
Duke University