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Hello {{First Name|there}},
This week we will be discussing a different mechanism tumors use to gain a blood supply. Typically, tumors release VEGF and other signals that stimulate the growth of new blood vessels in order to gain access to oxygen and nutrients.
But tumors have another strategy.
→ They can hijack blood vessels that already exist.
This process, called vessel co-option, is changing how we think about tumors that are resistant to anti-angiogenic therapy.
Not Every Tumor Needs to Build New Vessels
While some tumors stimulate angiogenesis to create new blood vessels, others can grow along existing vessels in the surrounding tissue. This process, called vessel co-option, allows cancer cells to use the host's established blood supply.
This matters because anti-angiogenic therapies target the formation of new vessels. If tumors can rely on existing vessels instead, blocking angiogenesis may not be enough to stop tumor growth.
Which of the following can cancer cells use to access an existing blood supply?
So, Can We Stop Vessel Co-option?
New studies are now looking for ways to block the interactions that allow tumors cells to attach to, migrate along, and exploit existing blood vessels. Potential targets include adhesion molecules such as β1 integrin and L1CAM, as well as pathways controlling tumor-cell movement and invasion.
Recent work is also revealing that co-option may involve distinct, treatment-resistant tumor cell states. In glioblastoma, a 2024 study identified a vessel-co-opting cell state associated with chemoradiation resistance and driven in part by FGFR1–YAP1 signaling. Targeting this pathway reduced the resistant cell state in preclinical models.
A 2026 study took a different approach, testing the integrin inhibitor cilengitide in lung metastasis models. Rather than eliminating co-opted vessels, cilengitide remodeled them into a more organized and functional vascular network, suggesting that normalizing co-opted vessels may be another way to make these tumors more vulnerable to treatment.
Tumors can grow new vessels, co-opt existing ones, and use several other mechanisms to access the vascular system. Understanding these different strategies may help develop treatments that target not just angiogenesis, but the broader relationship between tumors and their blood supply.
Check out this weeks youtube video to see our mascot Dr. Angio bringing complex health and research topics to life.
Best wishes,
- The Angiogenesis Foundation
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