Tumor Angiogenesis. Part II. Methods and Importance of Quantification;

Overview

The efforts to quantify tumor angiogenesis (AG) have been limited by the methods available. Onlysince introduction of immunohistochemistry, detection of early stages of capillary vessel formati-on is enabled.There were reports showing strong correlation between AG and behavior of the tumor (namelyformation of metastases, disease free interval, and overall survival) particularly in carcinomas ofthe breast, prostate, esophagus, stomach and colon.However, significance of these studies is strongly dependent on the methodological aspects, e.g.the choice of visualized endothelial antigen, microscopic magnification and selection of areaswith highest angiogenic activity (so called „hot spots”).We present a review of studies focused on AG and discuss pitfalls, which could bias the results.Current clinical applications as well as perspectives of future antiangiogenic treatment are alsodiscussed.

Key words:
angiogenesis - breast carcinoma - quantification - prognosis