Mechanisms of Disease: angiogenesis and the management of breast cancer

Demonstration of the clinically significant activity of bevacizumab in breast cancer has attracted a great deal of interest. Numerous other antiangiogenic treatments are in clinical development and some established therapies including tamoxifen and trastuzumab might function, in part, by suppressing angiogenesis. In this Review, we discuss the potential of various components of the angiogenic pathway as prognostic and predictive factors in breast cancer. In addition, we describe existing clinical trials of antiangiogenic agents and the challenges facing the clinical development and optimum use of these agents for the treatment of breast cancer.