antiangiogenesis
Meaning of antiangiogenesis: Antiangiogenesis refers to blocking the formation of new blood vessels, a process tumors depend on to grow and spread.
Definition of antiangiogenesis
Antiangiogenesis refers to the prevention or inhibition of angiogenesis, the process by which new blood vessels form from existing ones. Because tumors require a blood supply to grow beyond a very small size and to spread to other parts of the body, interfering with this process is a strategy used in certain cancer treatments.
Antiangiogenic approaches typically target signaling pathways that tumors use to stimulate nearby blood vessels to grow toward them, aiming to limit the tumor's access to oxygen and nutrients rather than acting directly on the cancer cells themselves. These approaches are often used in combination with other cancer treatments rather than alone.
Antiangiogenesis is a general concept describing an effect on blood vessel formation rather than a specific drug or treatment method.
How antiangiogenesis is built
- anti- Prefix · Greek against, opposing
- angi/o Combining form · Greek vessel
- -genesis Suffix · Greek formation, origin, production
A medical term is read from its ending backwards: the suffix first, then the prefix, then the root. See all 223 word parts.
Used in a sentence
The treatment plan included an antiangiogenesis agent intended to limit the tumor's blood supply.
Good to know
Antiangiogenic treatment targets the blood supply supporting a tumor rather than acting directly on the cancer cells themselves, which distinguishes its mechanism from treatments that kill cancer cells directly.
Word origin
Where “antiangiogenesis” comes from
Formed from anti- (Greek, meaning "against"), angio- (Greek angeion, meaning "vessel"), and genesis (Greek, meaning "origin" or "creation.")