Bevacizumab in metastatic breast cancer: when may it be used?

Shari B Goldfarb1, Clifford Hudis, Maura N Dickler

  • 1Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Medicine and Epidemiology and Biostatistics, New York, NY, USA.

Tumor angiogenesis, which is necessary for breast cancer growth, invasion and metastases, is regulated by pro-angiogenic factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Bevacizumab is a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody that targets VEGF. The addition of bevacizumab to chemotherapy has improved progression-free survival in the first- and second-line treatment of patients with advanced-stage breast cancer. In this article we review the clinical trials testing the utility of bevacizumab for the treatment of metastatic disease.

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