The role of bevacizumab in recurrent, platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer

The majority of women with ovarian cancer will experience a recurrence of their disease despite aggressive primary cytoreduction and adjuvant cytotoxic chemotherapy. Notwithstanding the high rate of recurrence, targeted and biologic agents have helped to decrease the dependence on cytotoxic chemotherapy. Bevacizumab, a vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor, has been shown to cause regression in tumor vasculature, inhibition of angiogenesis and prevention of progenitor cell recruitment. Phase III clinical trials of bevacizumab in patients with primary epithelial ovarian cancer and in patients with platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer have shown an improvement in progression free survival without an appreciable difference in overall survival. The addition of bevacizumab to standard cytotoxic chemotherapy regimens has demonstrated improved response rates, and improved progression free survival. These results have stimulated research in additional angiogenesis inhibitors and trials to further incorporate bevacizumab into the treatment schema for patients with recurrent ovarian cancer.