Strategies for Targeting Tumors and Tumor Vasculature for Cancer Therapy

Effective cancer therapy remains a challenge despite recent advances in the identification of novel targets. A major limitation of most chemotherapeutic drugs is their systemic toxicity and the efficacy of cancer treatments is, by and large, determined by the ability to balance their benefits against their toxicity. Targeted treatments for cancer, especially those that target the tumor vasculature, have provided promising antitumor results with minimal systemic toxicity. To date significant progress has been made in developing a variety of delivery systems to target cancer and its vasculature ranging from isolated limb and organ perfusion to tumor targeted biological and nonbiological vectors. (C) 2010, Elsevier Inc.