The Intriguing Role of Bevacizumab in Advanced Breast Cancer – The Search Continues

Abstract

Angiogenesis plays an important role in the biology of tumour progression and therapies that target the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathways -ligands, receptors and co-receptors -have become an important treatment for many types of cancer. Bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody against VEGF, was explored in several randomised Phase III studies conducted in patients with metastatic breast cancer. However, despite bringing improvements in progression-free survival, the use of bevacizumab has not been associated with improvements in overall survival. Further improvements in predictive biomarkers and the development of biology-driven Phase II trials will be critical to help us understand which patients would benefit the most from anti-angiogenic therapy. KeywordsBevacizumab, breast cancer, anti-angiogenesis, vascular endothelial growth factor Disclosure: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.