MILAN – Traditional anticancer drugs can be "boosted" with the help of new anti-angiogenics, molecules that block the blood vessels of the tumour: thus classic chemotherapy becomes more effective. And patients survive longer. Now a group of Canadian-American-Dutch-Italian researchers (the latter from IEO, the Milan institute directed by Umberto Veronesi) have discovered why. Francesco Bertolini, coordinator of the Milanese team that signed the work on Cancer Cell, explains it to us. «We have seen that the administration of chemotherapy, such as taxanes and fluorouracil, cause a strong increase in a growth factor called SDF-1. This molecule "recalls" blood vessel progenitor cells from the bone marrow that end up in the circulation. If chemotherapy does not destroy all the cancer cells, these progenitors, by giving rise to new blood vessels, supply the remaining cells with oxygen and thus allow the cancer to restart". Currently in the treatment of "big killer" tumors, such as those of the breast, lung and colorectal, bevacizumab, the most famous anti-angiogenic drug, is administered together with or even after chemotherapy. Two other angiogenesis inhibitors, sunitinib and sorafenib, are used against tumors of the liver and pancreas. Now the new discovery suggests administering anti-angiogenesis "before" chemotherapy. «A kind of pre-therapy – explains Bertolini -. Precisely because the SDF-1 factor is immediately mobilized and starts angiogenesis, it would be useful for antiangiogenics to play "early". Just administer them a few hours before chemo so that they can immediately intercept the vascular growth factors ». The anti-angiogenic drugs on the market today act on various factors, but not specifically on SDF-1: instead, the ideal would be to have a molecule that blocks the latter. «We are experimenting some on mice and they work – concludes Bertolini -. Now we need to invest in human trials». Adriana Bazzi
Corriere della Sera of 09/09/2008 ed. national p. 21
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