Frontiers in Oncology (Sep 2023)

Therapeutic potential of vasculogenic mimicry in urological tumors

  • Xinyu Lin,
  • Xinyu Lin,
  • Sheng Long,
  • Sheng Long,
  • Congcong Yan,
  • Congcong Yan,
  • Xiaofeng Zou,
  • Xiaofeng Zou,
  • Guoxi Zhang,
  • Guoxi Zhang,
  • Junrong Zou,
  • Junrong Zou,
  • Gengqing Wu,
  • Gengqing Wu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2023.1202656
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

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Angiogenesis is an essential process in the growth and metastasis of cancer cells, which can be hampered by an anti-angiogenesis mechanism, thereby delaying the progression of tumors. However, the benefit of this treatment modality could be restricted, as most patients tend to develop acquired resistance during treatment. Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) is regarded as a critical alternative mechanism of tumor angiogenesis, where studies have demonstrated that patients with tumors supplemented with VM generally have a shorter survival period and a poorer prognosis. Inhibiting VM may be an effective therapeutic strategy to prevent cancer progression, which could prove helpful in impeding the limitations of lone use of anti-angiogenic therapy when performed concurrently with other anti-tumor therapies. This review summarizes the mechanism of VM signaling pathways in urological tumors, i.e., prostate cancer, clear cell renal cell carcinoma, and bladder cancer. Furthermore, it also summarizes the potential of VM as a therapeutic strategy for urological tumors.

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