Vasculartargeted

Vasculartargeted refers to approaches that specifically target the vascular system to treat disease, with emphasis on solid tumors. The rationale is that tumor growth depends on abnormal vasculature, so disrupting or modulating the blood vessels can slow disease progression and influence the delivery and effectiveness of other therapies. The concept encompasses multiple modalities that either inhibit the formation of new vessels, disrupt existing tumor vasculature, or deliver agents directly to vascular structures.

Major strategies include anti-angiogenic therapies that block signals such as VEGF to prevent angiogenesis; vascular disrupting agents that collapse abnormal tumor vessels; and vascular targeted photodynamic therapy, which uses a light activated drug to occlude tumor blood flow. Additional approaches involve targeted drug delivery systems that bind to endothelial markers to release cytotoxic drugs, or imaging and diagnostic tools designed to visualize and assess the vasculature. In some contexts, vasculartargeted methods aim to normalize vasculature to improve drug penetration and treatment efficacy.

Clinical status varies by modality. Anti-angiogenic drugs are approved for several cancers; vascular disrupting agents and vascular targeted photodynamic therapies are under investigation with regional approvals for specific indications. Challenges include redundancy and adaptation of vascular pathways, toxicity to normal vessels, tumor heterogeneity, and difficulties in reliably assessing response. Ongoing research focuses on combination therapies and biomarkers to identify patients most likely to benefit.

See also anti-angiogenic therapy, vascular targeted photodynamic therapy, tumor vasculature, angiogenesis.