Anti-angiogenic Mechanism, Biochemical Factors’ Roles, Therapeutic Agents, and Under Clinical Trial Drugs for Breast and Prostate Cancers

The genesis of new blood vessels is the culmination of angiogenic activity which is responsible for the spreading of the tumors and other malignant masses. The blood supply also provides nourishment to non-malignant tissues and helps in their maintenance, growth, and proliferation. The major biological factors that significantly favor the angiogenic processes includes vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs), tumor necrosis factors (TNFs), and fibroblast growth factors (FGFs). The disruption and inhibition of angiogenic growth factors and their biochemical pathways during the cancer cycle are among the obvious choices to control the growth and proliferation of cancers. The current work deals in details about the growth factors, their roles, contextual biomechanics, and approaches to control angiogenesis through different inhibitory mechanisms involving biochemical pathways, growth factors, and structural motifs, playing part in the angiogenesis. The approaches to find novel molecular templates, new chemical entities, bio-macromolecular substrates, and probable drug leads for anti-angiogenic pharmacology are discussed. The chapter enlists various antiangiogenesis drugs, under clinical trials, new chemical entities, and other biochemical and recombinant therapeutic agents, used either as mono or as combination therapy in treatment of various forms of cancers, especially breast and prostate cancers.

Keywords: Angiogenesis, Angiogenin, Angiostatin, Antiangiogensis, Bevacizumab, Decorin, FGF, Ephrin, Endostatin, Interferon, Interleukin, Integrin, Matrix Metallo- Proteinases (MMP), TNFα, Thrombospondin, US-FDA Approved Anti-Cancer Drugs, Vitaxin.