Weaknesses in malignant tumors

Malignant tumors result from the growth of mutated cells, which require more energy to survive than normal cells. The existing blood vessels that provide nourishment and oxygen for the cells provide insufficient energy for the uncontrolled multiplication of these cells. For this reason, malignant tumors stimulate the growth of additional blood vessels. However, these new blood vessels exhibit chaotic structures, when compared to blood vessels in normal tissue. They are of an unusual size and have kinks and dead ends. Often, large areas of tumors are hypoxic because of the irregular structure of these blood vessels. And because hypoxic cells cannot sufficiently eliminate contaminants via the blood, they exhibit a lower pH value.

Additionally, significant changes in perfusion can often be observed with these tumors because the unstable blood vessels periodically collapse and deprive the cells of oxygen. It is extremely difficult to kill oxygen-deficient cells with ionizing radiation (which forms oxygen radicals that attack DNA) or chemotherapy (which requires blood flow to transport the cytostatic agents). Because hypoxic cells tend to metastasize, their destruction is a high priority in cancer treatment.