Angiogenesis inhibition: a review.

In this review we discuss the concept of anti-angiogenesis, which is the inhibition of neovascularization. Anti-angiogenic agents are viewed from the standpoint of their effect on various elements of the angiogenic process, including induction of vascular discontinuity, endothelial cell movement, endothelial cell proliferation, and three-dimensional restructuring of patent vessels. An effort is made to place the many different approaches to anti-angiogenesis research into a comprehensible structure, in order to identify problems of evaluation and interpretation, thereby providing a clearer basis for determining promising and needed directions for further investigation.