Bevacizumab, a humanized
monoclonal antibody directed against
vascular endothelial growth factor, is an effective and well-tolerated treatment option for patients with
breast cancer.
Bevacizumab has demonstrated a gain in progression-free survival and a trend towards an overall survival benefit in various subgroups of
breast cancer. Given the lack of a predictive
biomarker, we performed a literature search with regard to efficacy and tolerability of
bevacizumab in different subgroups of
breast cancer patients and in different settings. In the metastatic setting, the efficacy of
bevacizumab has been most extensively studied and demonstrated in patients with
triple-negative breast cancer, the most difficult-to-treat population among patients with advanced disease and also the group with the biggest need for new treatment options. Overall,
bevacizumab is well tolerated with very few serious adverse events.
Bevacizumab is also an active and feasible treatment option for patients above 70 years of age.