title: Efficacy and safety of bevacizumab for the treatment of glioblastoma.
abstract: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and devastating primary malignant intracranial tumor in adults. The current first-line treatment for patients with newly diagnosed GBM is surgical resection followed by radiotherapy plus concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide. This treatment protocol may prolong the survival period of the patient, however it is not curative and more effective therapeutic strategies are required. GBM is a type of highly vascularized tumor with increased expression levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is a significant mediator of angiogenesis. Since angiogenesis is essential for tumor growth, anti-angiogenic therapies hold potential for the treatment of GBM, and targeting VEGF has demonstrated promising results in previous studies. Bevacizumab (BEV) is a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody that inhibits VEGF and is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as a monotherapy treatment for patients with recurrent GBM and is associated with manageable toxicity. Previous studies have demonstrated that BEV may be an effective treatment for recurrent GBM, with prolonged progression-free survival and overall survival, and maintained patient quality of life and functional status. The present review article briefly outlines the mechanism of action of BEV and summarizes the current literature and clinical trial research on the role of BEV for the treatment of patients with recurrent and newly diagnosed GBM.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhiyun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhonghua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yunqian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Siping Central People's Hospital, Siping, Jilin 136000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhongying
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Guifang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xie
keywords: anti-angiogenic; bevacizumab; glioblastoma; vascular endothelial growth factor