There has been a lot of innovation and onset of new treatment formulas in the health sector in recent years. This has been attributed by the rising technological improvements. Similarly, the rising lifestyle diseases have also prompted the need for new drugs and other therapies.
Different organization such as the Food and Drug Administration based in the USA has revealed the use of an angiogenesis inhibitor treatment to slow down the growth of tumors.
About Angiogenesis
The formation of new blood cells in your body is what is referred to as angiogenesis. The endothelial cells undergo the process of migrating, growing, and differentiating. These cells line the walls of the blood vessels in your body. There are chemicals signals in your body controlling the process of angiogenesis. The chemical signals have the ability of repairing damaged blood vessels and also forming other new blood vessels.
However, there exist other chemical signals called angiogenesis inhibitors, which interfere with the process of blood formation. There has to be a balance between the stimulating effects and the inhibiting effects of these chemicals signals. It is necessary for blood vessels to be formed only when they are needed in your body.
Angiogenesis Inhibitors
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a binding signal molecule essential in the angiogenesis process. Binding VEGF with other endothelial growtfh factors to their endothelial cells initiates signals which are responsible for growth and survival of new blood cells.
On the other hand, the inhibitors interfere with the flow of this process. Sorafenib and Sunitinib are some of Angiogenesis inhibitors which have the ability of binding signals on the surface of the endothelial cells, causing pathways which block the process of angiogenesis.
However, angiogenesis inhibitors have been used to treat cancer in human beings in the recent past. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved inhibitors such as Bevacizumab to be used for cancer patients that other cancer treatments cannot be used for.
Some of the cancer that inhibitors have been used to treat include colectoral cancer, lung cancer, and also renal cell cancer. This type of inhibitor has been guaranteed to help slow down the growth of tumors and lengthen the life span of patients with cancer.
Side Effects
At the onset of the revelation of angiogenesis inhibitors as a cancer treatment formula, it was thought to have few side effects. However, recently, more serious complications by the inhibitors have been reported. Hence, the process of angiogenesis has been appreciated more in ensuring healing in heart and kidney organs as well as reproduction and fatal development in your body.
Some of the side effects of using angiogenesis inhibitors include the following:
- Bleeding
- Blood Clots In The Arteries
- Stroke Caused By Blood Clots
- Heart Attacks
- Hypertension
- Presence Of Proteins In Urine
- Fistula
- Gastrointestinal Perforation
- Birth Defects
There are many other possible side effects of using this treatment which have not yet been recognized. However, your therapist, specialist, or doctor should be able to recognize any unpleasant effects of the treatment. These side effects also differ with different drugs that you use. Your specialist should help you change to a more suitable drug with less adverse side effects so that the end result is effective and less harmful.
Difference Between Angiogenesis Inhibitors And Conventional Drugs
Unlike the normal conventional drugs that we use to treat cancer, angiogenesis inhibitors are quite unique. This is because of their ability to prevent the formation of new blood vessels, minimize growth of tumors.
Combined together with therapies such as chemotherapy, they provide effective results. The blood vessels in your body supply a tumor with what it needs to sustain and grow. The growth of these vessels can be directly normalized or limited using this treatment. In turn, the production of anticancer agents is facilitated. It is important to note that these inhibitors are only able to slow down growth of tumors, but not necessarily kill the cancer cells in your body.
Top Angiogenesis Products
Some of the products that have the ability of blocking development of new blood cells include the following:
Bevacizumab
This product is also called Avastin. It has the ability of blocking the VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) with receptors on the cells lining the blood vessels. This type of drug is a monoclonal antibody.
Sunitinib
This type of drug also has the ability of blocking growth signals inside the blood vessels. The types of cancers that have been treated using this drug include kidney cancer and gastrointestinal stromal tumor, which is a rare stomach cancer.
Thalidomide
This product has the ability to affect signals between cells in your blood vessels.
Lenalomide
This product also has the ability to affect signals between cells in your blood vessels
Angiogenesis Review Summary
Cancer is a menace, and with changing times and innovations, many types of treatments have been developed. These treatments, when combined with other forms of therapies such as the chemotherapy, have the ability of slowing down the dangerous progression of cancer. On the other hand, you should not ignore other conventional medicines. This is to help you avert the side effects that angiogenesis can cause.
