Risks and benefits with bevacizumab: evidence and clinical implications

With the 1997 filing of an investigational new drug application for the first agent to target angiogenesis, bevacizumab entered into phase I clinical trials and has now become a mainstay in the treatment of several cancers. Bevacizumab has changed the treatment approach for cancers due to its efficacy as well as toxicity. This article serves as a review of current efficacy data including recently published safety analyses and the direction of future pharmacodynamic evaluation to hopefully better guide its utilization.