Angiogenesis: What can it offer for future medicine?

Modulation of angiogenesis for disease therapy was proposed nearly 40 years ago and today various protein and chemical molecules are available for the treatment of human malignant and ophthalmological disorders. Angiogenesis research has emerged, as one of the most comprehensive research areas, in biomedicine and development of novel drugs by targeting angiogenesis has become one of the main focuses among pharmaceutical giants. If 30% of annually 12 million new cancer cases worldwide receive antiangiogenic therapy, over 60 million cancer patients would be treated by the end of 2060. In this mini-review, I discuss current available antiangiogenic drugs and future therapeutic options based on the angiogenesis principle. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.