Milan, 15 June 2010 – A team of researchers led by Elisabetta Dejana (Head of the Angiogenesis Research Program at IFOM) have identified a novel mechanism underlying the abnormal development of the vascular system in tumours, a distinctive and dangerous feature of cancer. The discovery has important implications: it opens the way for new therapeutic approaches that could complement and enhance existing anticancer therapies that block the blood supply to tumours. In the near future, the researchers will test the effectiveness of the new therapeutic approach in cancers such as melanoma, breast cancer and pancreatic cancer. The study was published online today in the renowned scientific journal, Developmental Cell.