Proceedings of the British Institute of Radiology Radiation and cancer biology non-topic meeting

The manipulation of tumour blood flow is a potentially useful method for improving the efficacy of various forms of cancer therapy. A novel approach may be to alter the levels of nitric oxide (NO) within the tumour. One important role of NO is in the physiological regulation of blood vessel tone. NO is produced in the vascular endothelium by the action of the enzyme nitric oxide synthase on L-arginine, and is responsible in part for dilating blood vessels. Agents known to release NO in vivo, the NO donors, may be expected to enhance vasodilation, whereas NO inhibitors would induce vasoconstriction.