Inhibitors of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor

The continued growth of a tumor requires a series of inter-related steps that include the growth and formation of new blood vessels, a process known as angiogenesis. As a pro-angiogenic stimulus, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been identified as a key component in this rather complicated cascade. Many different studies describe the significance of VEGF as a prognostic factor or as a means of predicting response to therapy, but we do not fully understand how to incorporate these findings into clinical practice. Several agents targeting VEGF have been developed and are in various stages of human testing.