Fig. 1.
Schematic of therapeutic strategies to improve tumor perfusion. (A) Abnormalities in interendothelial junctions, pericyte coverage, and/or basement membrane lead to hyperpermeability of tumor blood vessels and excessive fluid leakage that slows down blood flow. (B) Vascular normalization fortifies the vessel wall, resulting in smaller interendothelial gaps (“pores”) and improved perfusion. (C) Structural components of the tumor microenvironment exert forces on blood vessels, resulting in vessel compression and reduced blood flow. (D) Alleviation of these forces by selective depletion of tumor constituents (e.g., cells or extracellular matrix) can decompress the vessels and improve vessel perfusion. BM, basement membrane; CC, cancer and/or stromal cell; EC, endothelial cell; ECM, extracellular matrix; PC, pericyte.