Bevacizumab in Breast Cancer: A Targeted Therapy Still in Search of a Target Population

Despite extensive clinical investigation, bevacizumab has failed to reliably demonstrate a survival benefit across breast cancer subtypes in the early or advanced setting. There is a strong biologic rationale for anti-angiogenic therapy in breast cancer, including the observation that elevated serum levels of  HIF-1 and VEGF associate with poor prognosis [1–4]. However, while bevacizumab has reliably demonstrated transient activity in breast cancer, including detectable response rates and progression-free survival (PFS) advantages [5], this drug has not demonstrated a durable clinical benefit in breas t cancer.
Source: Seminars in Oncology - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Source Type: research