Definition
Avastin® made by Genentech/Roche.
Monoclonal antibody against the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Bevacizumab has activity in colorectal cancer (Colorectal Cancer Therapeutic Antibodies), non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer. Binding to VEGF prevents it from binding to its receptor. Originally approved by the US FDA for the treatment of colorectal cancer.
VEGF stimulates the growth of new blood vessels, a process called angiogenesis. The binding of bevacizumab is designed to inactivate VEGF so that it is no longer an effective stimulant for angiogenesis. As a result, new blood vessels are not formed. Cancers depend on the development of new blood vessels to grow. Without an adequate supply of blood, they cannot get larger and may even shrink. Bevacizumab does not work directly on the tumor, but prevents its growth by reducing its supply of blood. Bevacizumab does not cure cancer, but it can slow its growth and increase survival times. It...
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References
Jubb AM, Harris AL (2010) Biomarkers to predict the clinical efficacy of bevacizumab in cancer. Lancet Oncol 11(12):1172–1183
See Also
(2012) FDA. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, p 1386. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_2136
(2012) Humanized monoclonal antibody. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, p 1760. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_6844
(2012) Monoclonal antibody. In: Schwab M (ed) Encyclopedia of cancer, 3rd edn. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, p 2367. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16483-5_6842
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Schwab, M. (2014). Bevacizumab. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_595-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_595-2
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