Angiogenesis-Related Pathways in the Pathogenesis of Ovarian Cancer

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Nikos G. Gavalas¹  Michalis Liontos¹  Sofia-Paraskevi Trachana¹  Tina Bagratuni¹  Calliope Arapinis¹  Christine Liacos¹  Meletios A. Dimopoulos¹ 

[1] Department of Clinical Therapeutics, Medical School, University of Athens, Alexandra Hospital, 80 Vas. Sofias Avenue, Athens 115 28, Greece;

关键词: ovarian;    cancer;    angiogenesis;    pathway;    VEGF;    PDGF;    FGF;    Ang;    Tie2;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms140815885

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Ovarian Cancer represents the most fatal type of gynecological malignancies. A number of processes are involved in the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer, especially within the tumor microenvironment. Angiogenesis represents a hallmark phenomenon in cancer, and it is responsible for tumor spread and metastasis in ovarian cancer, among other tumor types, as it leads to new blood vessel formation. In recent years angiogenesis has been given considerable attention in order to identify targets for developing effective anti-tumor therapies. Growth factors have been identified to play key roles in driving angiogenesis and, thus, the formation of new blood vessels that assist in “feeding” cancer. Such molecules include the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), the fibroblast growth factor (FGF), and the angiopoietin/Tie2 receptor complex. These proteins are key players in complex molecular pathways within the tumor cell and they have been in the spotlight of the development of anti-angiogenic molecules that may act as stand-alone therapeutics, or in concert with standard treatment regimes such as chemotherapy. The pathways involved in angiogenesis and molecules that have been developed in order to combat angiogenesis are described in this paper.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland