Chemotherapy targeted to tumor vasculature.

Vasculature-targeted chemotherapy--the destruction of tumor blood vessels with cytotoxic agents--makes use of biochemical differences between angiogenic and resting blood vessels. This approach may minimize or eliminate some of the problems associated with conventional solid-tumor targeting, such as poor tissue penetration and drug resistance. Experiments with antiangiogenic and thrombotic factors have shown that eliminating tumor blood supply has dramatic antitumor effects in mice. Targeting chemotherapeutic agents to the tumor vasculature combines the blood vessel destruction with the usual antitumor activities of the drug, resulting in increased efficacy and reduced toxicity in experiments with tumor-bearing mice. Human clinical trials, which are soon to follow, will determine the final value of this approach.