Abstract

The ongoing discovery of novel molecules involved in signaling pathways leading to cancer development has no doubt led to the rapid expansion of targeted-agents development in oncology. Owing to the quality-of-life issues and high mortality rates associated with lung cancer, it has been realized that to have better survival outcomes for patients, there is a marked need for additional targeted therapeutic options than the standard chemo and immunotherapeutics. Angiogenesis is one such fundamental process being constantly targeted to develop new therapeutic molecular agents. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the key angiogenic factor and anti-VEGF/VEGFR2 drugs have now emerged as the leading category of anti-cancer drugs. Here the therapeutic agent functions by blocking the ligand, VEGF or its receptor, VEGFR2, and as a result angiogenesis of tumor cells is arrested which eventually halts their proliferation and survival. Further, the recent preclinical evidence demonstrates the potential of anti-angiogenic therapy to target immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment and trigger an “angio-immunogenic switch” back toward an immunosupportive environment