Cancer Blood Vessels & Growth Support
The tiny blood vessels that feed cancerous tumors are usually very abnormal and leak or rupture easily. Because of this, abnormal bleeding is one of the signs of cancer in general. In the case of ovarian cancer, occasionally vaginal bleeding can occur but is not common. However, tumor vessels can also bleed internally, inside your abdomen, lowering your blood count and hemoglobin levels.Cancerous tumors can also grow rapidly and outgrow their blood supply, making the tumors oxygen deficient. When tumors are partly dying because they are starved for oxygen, the process is called necrosis. Necrosis, or dead tissue, is one of the reasons cancer can have an odor if it is exposed to the surface of the body. In addition, cancerous tumors are more prone to infection, which can also contribute to odor.
Fortunately, ovarian cancer rarely extends to the body's surface, so odor is not a problem unless the cancer grows into the vagina. This is rare, but necrosis is still a problem because cancerous ovaries can become infected and poor blood supply can reduce the effectiveness of chemotherapy.
What is Angiogenesis?
Cancer produces factors called angiogenins, which help create new blood vessels to help the tumor mass get oxygen and nutrients. This, in turn, leads to growth and metastases (spread to other areas). Counteracting angiogenesis factors produced by ovarian cancer is one of the newest developments in targeting strategies for fighting cancer.The drug with the greatest name recognition, which is the subject of a major ongoing Gynecologic Oncology Group(GOG) clinical trial, is called Avastin or bevacizumab.
