Angiogenesis is implicated in the development of a variety of pathological processes, most commonly cancer. It is essential for tumor growth and metastasis, making it an important cancer therapeutic target. Naturally occurring substances have led to the discovery of anticancer agents. Flavokawain B (FKB), a chalcone isolated from the root extracts of kava-kava plant, inhibits proliferation and causes apoptosis in vitro and in vivo of various cancer cell lines. The antimetastatic potential of FKB has also been suggested. In our study, we confirm the antiangiogenic action of FKB in vitro and, for the first time, demonstrate its strong antiangiogenic activity in vivo, using a zebrafish model. Our data show that FKB inhibits human brain endothelial cell (HUVEC) migration and tube formation even at very low and non-toxic concentrations. Moreover, FKB blocks angiogenesis process in zebrafish, with a dramatic reduction of subintestinal vein formation in a dose-dependent manner. Flavokawain B at the concentration of 2.5 μg/mL did not exhibit any toxic effects in zebrafish larvae and caused a markedly or complete obliteration of subintestinal vein formation. Our findings along with previously published data confirm that FKB may form the basis for creating an additional tool in the treatment of cancer and other neovascularization-related diseases. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Objectives:To provide an updated literature overview about the pathophysiology, natural history, diagnosis and treatment of endometrial polyps (EPs). Findings in Brief: EPs are focal, sessile or pedunculated projections of endometrial lining, resulting from the hyperplastic overgrowths of endometrial glands and stroma around a vascular core. These are the most common intrauterine diseases, affecting up to 34.9% of the women during their lifetime. EPs may vary in size, location, histopathology, natural history and clinical presentation. Importantly, EPs are common in women suffering with infertility (i.e., up to 32% in patients undergoing in-vitro-fertilization) and are not exempt from risk of malignant transformation (occurring in about 3.1% of patients). For these reasons, EPs represent one of the most significant gynaecological problems worldwide. Trans-vaginal ultrasound has fair diagnostic accuracy for EPs, with sensitivity and specificity of 91% and 90%, respectively. Nevertheless, the current gold standard for EPs diagnosis is hysteroscopy, which allows a direct visualization of EPs size and morphology. Moreover, this technique enables safe EPs excision, with a low risk of incomplete tissue removal (about 1.9% and 4.3% in inpatient and outpatient settings, respectively), and variable recurrence rate based on individual risk factors (ranging between 2.5% and 43.6%). Besides hysteroscopy, other management options for EPs can be considered on a case by case basis. Conclusions: Our review may be helpful for updating clinicians' knowledge on the management of EPs.