BioCentury
ARTICLE | Targets & Mechanisms

Countering chemo-induced metastasis

November 10, 2011 8:00 AM UTC

Two independent research teams have elucidated mechanisms by which cisplatin and paclitaxel can promote lung metastases in mice, providing links between the chemotherapies and the known metastatic effects of upregulating VEGF receptor 1 and matrix metalloproteinase 9, which acts downstream of the receptor.1,2

The findings could create additional uses for inhibitors of VEGF receptor 1 (FLT1; VEGFR-1) and revive work on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitors, a class of beleaguered cancer compounds that has all but disappeared from development...