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A new drug on the market may change this situation. Rapamycin (RAPA), an immunosuppressant, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration three years ago for use in transplant patients. While reading through the literature, Geissler and his colleagues came across some indications that RAPA could alter intracellular signaling pathways in a way that might potentially inhibit angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels. If so, it could serve as an anti-cancer agent, as well as an immunosuppressant, by cutting off the blood supply to the growing tumor.
But no evidence existed to suggest that RAPA was actually an ...