Tumor endothelial markers

Abstract

Advances in the field of antiangiogenesis therapy have clearly demonstrated that this approach can augment more traditional methods of cancer treatment which aim to destroy the tumor cells directly. Although antiangiogenic agents such as neutralizing anti-VEGF antibodies have revealed clear clinical utility in certain cancer types, disease inevitably progresses, highlighting the continued need for the development of more effective therapeutic agents. The successful development of novel antiangiogenic and vascular disrupting agents that specifically target the tumor vasculature depends on a detailed knowledge of the molecular signatures of the tumor vasculature. Several laboratories have exploited recent advances in proteomics and global gene expression analysis to uncover a variety of cell surface tumor endothelial markers (TEMs) that may prove useful in the design of novel strategies for targeting tumor vasculature. A better understanding of these TEMs is key to uncovering their potential role in angiogenesis as well as their suitability as therapeutic targets. © 2008 Springer US.