title: Implications of vessel co-option in sorafenib-resistant hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: The reason why tumors generally have a modest or transient response to antiangiogenic therapy is not well understood. This poses a major challenge for sorafenib treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) where alternate therapies are lacking. We recently published a paper entitled "Co-option of liver vessels and not sprouting angiogenesis drives acquired sorafenib resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma" in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, providing a potential explanation for this limited benefit. We found that in mice bearing HCCs that had acquired resistance to sorafenib, tumors had switched from using angiogenesis for growth to co-opting the liver vasculature by becoming more invasive. Accumulating evidence suggests that many human tumor types may use vessel co-option, which has profound implications for the use of anti-angiogenic agents for cancer treatment.
authors.affiliation: Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, S-Wing, Room S217, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Kuczynski
authors.affiliation: Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, S-Wing, Room S217, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada. robert.kerbel@sri.utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Kerbel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D051379:Mice; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D009536:Niacinamide / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D010671:Phenylurea Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000077157:Sorafenib
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D010671:Phenylurea Compounds; D009536:Niacinamide; D000077157:Sorafenib
keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Non-angiogenic; Resistance; Sorafenib; Vessel co-option