Twenty years ago biologist Napoleone Ferrara discovered a mysterious protein in the pituitary gland of cows that seemed to make blood vessels grow. He foresaw a new weapon against cancer―block the protein and tumors may be unable to proliferate―but the rinding was so obscure that even his boss was skeptical. Last month the drug that resulted from Ferrara's work began to look like a success: Genentech unveiled trial results that showed it extended colon cancer patients' lives by a median of five months, or 30%, one of the bigger advances in years. The drug, Avastin, could hit the market by year-end, joining existing anticancer chemicals and radiation as standard therapy for colon cancer―and it could end up working against other cancers. Thus, Avastin, which blocks VEGF, the protein Ferrara first isolated, could become the first entry in a new way to treat cancer―antiangiogenesis, which shuts down tumors by quelling their ability to form the new blood vessels that feed their expansion.
展开▼
