肿瘤淋巴管生成

Tumor lymphangiogenesis

相对于肿瘤的血管生成(angiogenesis)而言,肿瘤中的淋巴管生成(lymphangiogenesis)是一个长期受到争议和忽视的问题。但近来的实验证明:肿瘤细胞可以通过表达淋巴管生成的调控因子VEGF-C和VEGF—D诱导淋巴管生成,并且促进肿瘤细胞的淋巴道转移。这些发现使得淋巴管生成开始成为研究肿瘤淋巴道转移的焦点,并有可能成为治疗肿瘤淋巴道转移的靶点。

Compared with tumor angiogenesis, tumor lymphangiogenesis is a phenomenon which has been questioned and neglected in the past. Recent experiments, however, indicated that VEGF-C and VEGF-D secreted by tumor cells are able to activate tumor lymphangiogenesis and increase lymphatic metastasis. These findings make lymphangiogenesis a focus in the study of lymphatic metastasis and a possible target of therapy.