Nwariaku, Faculty Advisor, Fiemu

Rossi, Isabella

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Illinois Wesleyan UniversityDigital Commons @ IWUJohn Wesley Powell Student ResearchConference 2009, 20th Annual JWP ConferenceApr 18th, 9:00 AM - 10:00 AMResponse of Anaplastic Thyroid Tumors to VEGF-Trap, an Anti-Angiogenic AgentIsabella RossiIllinois Wesleyan UniversityFiemu Nwariaku, Faculty AdvisorUniversity of Texas-Southwestern Medical CenterFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/jwprcThis Event is brought to you for free and open access by The Ames Library, the Andrew W. Mellon Center for Curricular and FacultyDevelopment, the Office of the Provost and the Office of the President. It has been accepted for inclusion in Digital Commons @ IWU bythe faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@iwu.edu.©Copyright is owned by the author of this document.Isabella Rossi and Fiemu Nwariaku, Faculty Advisor, "Response of Anaplastic Thyroid Tumors to VEGF-Trap, an Anti-Angiogenic Agent" (April 18, 2009). John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference. Paper 23.http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/jwprc/2009/posters/23THE JOHN WESLEY POWELL STUDENT RESEARCH CONFERENCE - APRIL 2009 Poster Presentation P45 RESPONSE OF ANAPLASTIC THYROID TUMORS TO VEGF-TRAP, AN ANTI-ANGIOGENIC AGENT Isabella Rossi and Fiemu Nwariaku* Biology Department, Illinois Wesleyan University and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) is the major pro angiogenic factor secreted by tumor cells. VEGF causes endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and survival, leading to the formation of new blood vessels that are essential for tumor growth and metastases. Anti-VEGF therapy involving an anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody has been successfully used to treat a variety of cancers. However, this approach has met with mixed results. A recently developed antibody, VEGF-Trap, was developed to improve the efficacy of anti-VEGF strategies. VEGF­Trap is a synthetic protein composed of the VEGF-binding domains VEGF Receptor 1 (VEGFRl) and VEGFR2, resulting in a higher binding affinity for VEGF than the monoclonal antibody. This study determined the effect of VEGF-Trap in anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, an aggressive form of cancer with high mortality and metastases rates. Mice bearing anaplastic tumors showed improved survival when treated with VEGF-Trap. The size of the tumors, in addition to the microvessel density, significantly decreased. Additionally, the results indicated compensatory VEGF production as well as an increase in macrophage density. Overall, the study showed anaplastic thyroid cancer to be susceptible to treatment with VEGF -Trap. Potential resistance of tumor blood vessels to anti-VEGF therapy is hypothesized to be conferred by pericytes, which provide survival signals for blood vessels. Therefore, a dual targeting of both endothelial cells and pericytes by combining VEGF-trap with an anti-PDGF therapy may prove to be a more efficient anti-angiogenic therapy for anaplastic thyroid cancer 

Response of Anaplastic Thyroid Tumors to VEGF-Trap, an Anti-Angiogenic Agent

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Response of Anaplastic Thyroid Tumors to VEGF-Trap, an Anti-Angiogenic Agent

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