Bevacizumab

Bevacizumab (trade name Avastin, Genentech/Roche) is a humanized monoclonal antibody that recognises and blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). VEGF is a chemical signal that stimulates the growth of new blood vessels (angiogenesis). Blood vessels grow uncontrollably in cancer, retinal proliferation of diabetes in the eye, and other diseases. Bevacizumab can block VEGF from creating new blood vessels. Bevacizumab was the first clinical... more

Bevacizumab (trade name Avastin, Genentech/Roche) is a humanized monoclonal antibody that recognises and blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). VEGF is a chemical signal that stimulates the growth of new blood vessels (angiogenesis). Blood vessels grow uncontrollably in cancer, retinal proliferation of diabetes in the eye, and other diseases. Bevacizumab can block VEGF from creating new blood vessels. Bevacizumab was the first clinically available angiogenesis inhibitor in the United States. Bevacizumab is currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for cancers that are metastatic (have spread to other parts of the body). It received its first approval in 2004 was for combination use with standard chemotherapy for metastatic colon cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. In 2008, it was approved by the FDA for use in metastatic breast cancer, a decision that generated some controversy as it went against the recommendation of its advisory panel, who... less