UFT and its metabolites inhibit cancer-induced angiogenesis. Via a VEGF-related pathway.

Treatment with UFT for spontaneous lung metastasis of murine renal carcinoma (RENCA) after resection of the primary tumor has resulted in significant prolongation of the life span of tumor-bearing animals. UFT inhibited the growth of metastatic nodules in the lung, apparently via decreased density of microvessels in the metastatic foci. Subsequent experiments used dorsal air sac assay to directly trace newly forming microvessels. UFT abrogated the process of angiogenesis, induced by the RENCA cells, in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibitory effect appeared to originate from tegafur, a component of UFT, and from its known metabolites: fluorouracil (5-FU), gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), and gamma-butyrolactone (GBL). The inhibition of angiogenesis by UFT appeared to be a common phenomenon, also observed in other human cancer cell lines characterized by an excessive production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)--such as gastric, lung, and colon cancers. In vitro analysis revealed that 5-FU and gamma-hydroxybutyric acid regulated VEGF-dependent responses of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Dorsal air sac assay revealed that UFT, 5-FU, and gamma-hydroxybutyric acid strongly inhibited the angiogenesis induced by recombinant human VEGF. These data suggest that the antiangiogenic activity of UFT is at least partially associated with an ability of the metabolites of UFT to interfere with VEGF-dependent responses of vascular endothelial cells.