Potential Set Back In Cancer Treatment

A new study from UCLA shows that a new type of cancer tumor-killing drug may cause heart attacks and strokes in mice. The new type of drugs, called "angiogenesis inhibitors," block a tumor's blood supply and have been touted as effective cancer fighters with fewer side effects than chemotherapy. One type of these drugs, called Avastin, is already on the market being used by cancer patients. Avastin cuts off blood supply from outside the tumor, and carries some cardiovascular side effects. UCLA studied a drug that cuts off a cancer tumor's blood supply from the inside. In the UCLA study, over 50 percent of the mice taking the drug died from stroke or heart attack. Guest host Ted Chen talks with UCLA cancer researcher Luisa Iruela-Arispa about the news, and with Stanford University School of Medicine's Dr. Stanley Rockson about its implications.