title: Anti-angiogenic agents in ovarian cancer: dawn of a new era?
abstract: Epithelial ovarian cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related death for women both in the United States and worldwide, and the effectiveness of cytotoxic chemotherapy has plateaued. Angiogenesis plays an important role in ovarian cancer biology, and exploration of anti-angiogenic agents in this disease has demonstrated anti-tumor activity both as monotherapy and in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy. However, key questions remain regarding the use of these drugs in ovarian cancer, such as where in treatment should they be used, should these drugs be used as single agents or combined with chemotherapy, can and which biomarkers predict efficacy, are there efficacy and toxicity differences amongst the various agents, what are the cost-benefit ratios of these therapies, and are the patient outcome improvements observed in completed studies significant enough to warrant widespread use of these drugs? Here, we review recent progress and discuss ongoing controversies regarding the use of anti-angiogenic therapies in ovarian cancer.
authors: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA. joyce_liu@dfci.harvard.edu
authors: Joyce
authors: J
authors: Liu
authors: Ursula A
authors: UA
authors: Matulonis
mesh_terms: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000188:drug therapy; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents