The Cancer Stopper III

Dateline: 05/14/98

Officials at the U. S. National Cancer Institute announced the development of two new drugs: angiostatin and endostatin. These drugs prevented cancer in mice by halting tumor growth and stopping the formation of new blood vessels in these tumors.

In order for cancerous cells to grow, they must first induce the creation of new blood vessels--a process called angiogenesis. Angiostatin and endostatin work by preventing these new blood vessels from forming, thus starving the tumors. Endostatin also assists in tumor eradication by causing the growths to become dormant for an indefinite period of time. Both angiostatin and endostatin are proteins that are found in the body.

This discovery was made by Dr. Judah Folkman, a researcher at Boston's Childrens Hospital. The study involved twenty mice, all with cancerous tumors which were subsequently removed. Folkman treated half of the mice with human angiostatin that had been extracted from blood samples, while the other half were given a mixture of salt and water. The mice that were treated with salt and water developed new tumors while the mice treated with angiostatin did not experience new tumor growth.

Another exciting fact about this discovery is the potential to treat cancer patients with anti-angiogenic therapy instead of chemotherapy and radiation. One side effect of radiation treatment is cell resistance to the radiation. When using angiostatin and endostatin, Folkman cites no side effects of this kind or any other problems that are common with radiation therapy.

Clinical tests have not been performed, so no one knows if these drugs will be effective in humans. Researchers are optimistic that angiostatin and endostatin will be effective against tumors, but the person may have to take the drugs for life. This may pose future problems since the long term side effects of these particular drugs are unknown.

What do you think? Could this be a genuine cure for cancer, or is it just another step in the right direction towards finding a cure? Come over to the Biology Forum and share your thoughts, opinions, and feelings.

For additional information see:

• Promising New Cancer Treatment has People Buzzing
  
• News report on the study from CNN.
• The Cancer Stopper
  
• Have we finally found a cure for cancer?
• The Cancer Stopper II
• Now, it's really getting interesting.