But Folkman persevered, and eventually he proved that such chemical substances do exist. Today, four decades later, such substances have been used to treat more than 10 million people with neovascular diseases such as macular degeneration and many different forms of cancer.
这种理论完全有悖于传统智慧。审核福克曼科研拨款的科学家认为新血管的生成仅仅是因为炎症。但福克曼仍坚持研究，并最终证明这种化学物质确实存在。四十年后的今天，已有1000多万患者接受过这种物质的治疗，其中既包括黄斑变性等新生血管性疾病，也包括各式肿瘤。