Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Antagonist as an Angiogenic Inhibitor in Urogenital Cancer

The potential for angiotensin II (AII) to promote tumor growth has been suspected based on its known hormonal actions and its vasoconstrictor effect. It has been suggested that angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors may offer protection against cancer and may prevent carcinogenesis. Several studies report that AII can induce neovascularization in experimental systems by way of the AII type 1 receptor (AT1R). AT1R is also frequently expressed in such human tumors as skin cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and breast cancer. A growing number of recent studies focusing on treatment with an AT1R antagonist have demonstrated that angiotensin receptor blockade (ARB) appears to inhibit not only the growth of cancer cells but also tumor angiogenesis. We describe here the effects of AT1R blockade that implicate tumor angiogenesis in urogenital cancer since ARB may be an alternative modality for anti-cancer treatment.