Angiogenesis and Vasculogenesis in Pregnancy and in Tumor Development

Investigation of the mechanisms regulating development of new vessels is crucial to our understanding of both tumor biology and early pregnancy development. There are striking similarities between, on the one hand, tumor invasion and tumor vascularization and, on the other, blastocyst implantation and placental development. These two different sets of events share two important features: 1 migration and invasion through extracellular matrix (ECM) 2 the ability to access the host vasculature and recruit a blood supply.