Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Lublin, 20-090, Lublin, Poland.
Department of Human Anatomy, Medical University of Lublin, 20-090, Lublin, Poland.
Clin J Gastroenterol. 2021 Feb;14(1):14-25. doi: 10.1007/s12328-020-01295-1. Epub 2020 Nov 18.
Gastric cancer (GC) is undoubtedly one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide. Since GC is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths with nearly one million new diagnoses reported every year, there is a need for the development of new, effective treatment strategies of GC. Gastric carcinogenesis is a complex process that is induced by numerous factors and further stimulated by many pro-oncogenic pathways. Angiogenesis is the process of the new blood vessels formation from the already existing ones and it significantly contributes to the progression of gastric tumorigenesis and the growth of the cancerous tissues. The newly formed vessels provide cancer cells with proper nutrition, growth factors, and oxygen supply that are crucial for tumor growth and progression. Tumor-associated vessels differ from the physiological ones both morphologically and functionally. They are usually inefficient and unevenly distributed due to structural transformations. Thus, the development of the angiogenesis inhibitors that possess therapeutic effects has been the main focus of recent studies. Angiogenesis inhibitors mostly affect the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway since it is a major factor that stimulates the pro-angiogenic pathways. The aim of this review was to describe and summarize other promising molecular pathways that might be crucial in further improvements in GC therapies. This article provides an overview of how a meaningful role in tumor progression the angiogenetic process has. Furthermore, this review includes a description of the most important angiogenic factors as well as pathways and their involvement in gastric carcinogenesis.
胃癌（GC）无疑是全球最常见的恶性肿瘤之一。由于每年有近 100 万例新诊断病例，GC 是癌症相关死亡的第二大主要原因，因此需要开发新的、有效的 GC 治疗策略。胃癌发生是一个复杂的过程，由许多因素诱导，并进一步受到许多致癌途径的刺激。血管生成是新血管从已存在的血管形成的过程，它对胃肿瘤发生和癌组织的生长有重要贡献。新形成的血管为癌细胞提供适当的营养、生长因子和氧气供应，这对肿瘤生长和进展至关重要。肿瘤相关的血管在形态和功能上与生理血管不同。由于结构的转变，它们通常效率低下且分布不均匀。因此，开发具有治疗效果的血管生成抑制剂一直是最近研究的主要焦点。血管生成抑制剂主要影响血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）途径，因为它是刺激促血管生成途径的主要因素。本综述的目的是描述和总结其他有前途的分子途径，这些途径可能在进一步改善 GC 治疗中具有重要作用。本文概述了血管生成过程在肿瘤进展中的重要作用。此外，本综述还描述了最重要的血管生成因子及其在胃癌发生中的作用途径。
