In the battle against cancer, Dr. Judah Folkman (born 1933) has found a new approach: to attack the blood vessels that nourish cancer cells. The results of initial tests in cancer-bearing mice performed in 1998 were promising enough to raise the hopes of both cancer patients and physicians worldwide.

A noted professor, physician, and former surgeon-in-chief at the Boston Pediatric Hospital, Dr. Judah M. Folkman has demonstrated that by cutting off the blood supply nourishing cancer cells, cancer tumors can be killed with only negligible side effects. Theorizing on a method to prevent the growth of existing tumors, Folkman decided to try blocking the signals sent out by these tumors to perform angiogenesis--the formation of new blood vessels. To test his theory, he used two agents--angiostatin and endostatin--to treat cancer in laboratory mice. Although the results were positive, they were not conclusive, for other cancer-fighting drugs had a history of...