Review Article
Bevacizumab in Colorectal Cancer: Toxicity - Epidemiology, Management and Correlation with Response
Esther Tahover* and Yakir Rottenberg
Department of Oncology Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
- *Corresponding Author:
- Esther Tahover
Department of Oncology, Hadassah-Hebrew University
Ein-Kerem Jerusalem 91120, Israel
Tel: 972-2-6777111
Fax: 972-2-6427485
E-mail: esthert@hadassah.org.il
Received date: July 11, 2013; Accepted date: August 06, 2013; Published date: August 09, 2013
Citation: Tahover E, Rottenberg Y (2013) Bevacizumab in Colorectal Cancer: Toxicity - Epidemiology, Management and Correlation with Response. J Gastroint Dig Syst 3:128. doi: 10.4172/2161-069X.1000128
Copyright: © 2013 Tahover E, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
During the recent years, the median survival of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer has improved dramatically. Gastroenterological interventions are frequently carried throughout the disease course, and familiarity with the various side effects of regimens which are commonly used in these patients is required. Bevacizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting VEGF, has a dominant role in the treatment of metastatic colon cancer. It has been shown in randomized trials to improve overall survival compared to standard treatment. Yet, this benefit is counterbalanced by a different safety profile compared to classic chemotherapy regimens, which is potentially serious and fatal. The side effects include impaired wound healing, bowel perforation, fistula formation, hemorrhage, thrombosis, proteinuria and hypertension. The current review focuses on the epidemiology, management and predictive value of bevacizumab’s toxicity.
