Grant: Operating Grant - PA: Alberta Cancer Foundation - Research (bridge funding)

As tumors grow they need to make new blood vessels in order to supply their growing fuels with the necessary nutrients. In blocking the formation of new blood vessels had been a quite promising and exciting potential therapy for cancers. However, the results in humans with drugs that are blocking the formation of these blood vessels have been so far disappointing and a new strategy is needed. With this work we identify new ways by which the tumors can make new blood vessels. We provide evidence that the mitochondria, the energy powerhouses in the cells, are directly involved in this process. We have preliminary results that make us optimistic that this work will eventually result into the creation of novel therapeutic strategy that would control tumor blood vessels by reactivating tumor mitochondria. One example of such strategy is the drug dichloroacetate, a generic drug that has shown promise in affecting tumor growth but without significant adverse effects. It appears that this and similar drugs may also have additional, and so far unrecognized, effects on tumor blood vessels.