Altered angiogenic balance in keloids: a key to therapeutic intervention.

Keloids are manifestations of abnormal wound repair with unresolved clinical complications. An effective therapeutic regimen has not been established for keloids, and current strategies are plagued by problems such as recurrence and side effects. Keloids, being a human-specific dermal fibroproliferative disorder are characterized by an excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM), thickened basement membrane, unregulated expression of matrix metalloproteases, growth factors, and cytokines.