The effect of commonly used drugs on angiogenesis

Background: Within the last decade, there has been much interest in the area of tumor angiogenesis, with the advent of many new anti-angiogenic drugs undergoing testing in cancer clinical Phases II and III. Many of the cancer patients also take multiple medications for a variety of chronic illnesses. Because of possible drug-drug interactions, it is important to investigate the effect that commonly prescribed medications may have on angiogenesis. Materials and Methods: In this pilot study, we assessed the effect of the following drugs on in vitro angiogenesis: atenolol, diltiazem, enalapril, disopyramide, mexiletine, coumadin, cimetidine and omeprazole. Results & Conclusion: We observed that, although some of these drugs at massive doses inhibited endothelial proliferation, they did not affect in vitro angiogenesis at human therapeutic ranges.