Malignant tumours often display hypoxic tissue areas where the oxygen tension is < 7 mm Hg. Studies in this field have proved that the hypoxic state boosts tumour progression and aggressive behaviour. In tissue culture experiments "in vitro" oxygenation was found to inhibit in itself the proliferation of cells of healthy tissues as well as benign and malignant tumours. It is a very important observation from oncotherapeutic point of view that in the presence of partial oxygen pressure < 2.5 mm Hg the radiosensitivity decreases (intrinsic radioresistance). Most of the anticancer drugs (cytostatics) are also ineffective in hypoxic tumours (chemoresistance).
The effect of oxygenation on the biological behaviour of tumours.
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