Antiangiogenesis and drug delivery to tumors: bench to bedside and back.

After over 30 years of preclinical and clinical development, antiangiogenic agents have recently entered the clinic as attractive targeted therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. Fueled by exciting new developments in the field, the AACR Special Conference was designed to broadly survey critical scientific advances in the antiangiogenic therapy of cancer. Because these advances have come primarily with the use of combinations of antiangiogenic agents with chemotherapy, or with antiangiogenic agents that also directly target the cancer cells, the central theme included the issue of drug delivery to tumors. These two major issues were addressed in concert, from basic mechanisms of action of antiangiogenic agents to new combination approaches to cancer treatment. Nearly 300 participants from 20 countries registered for the conference, drawn both from academia and industry, with a wide range in experience and background. Dr. Rakesh Jain, along with conference co-chairs, Drs. Lee Ellis and Luisa Iruela-Arispe, assembled an outstanding lineup of speakers for this conference that included many of the pioneers in the fields of angiogenesis and drug delivery from the U.S. and abroad. This resulted in an excellent overview of the advances in our understanding of cellular and molecular aspects of tumor angiogenesis and antiangiogenic therapy of cancer in combination with conventional therapy.