Bevacizumab and glioblastoma: Scientific review, newly reported updates, and ongoing controversies

Abstract

Anti-angiogenic therapy for glioblastoma has been in the spotlight for several years, as researchers and clinicians strive to find agents with meaningful efficacy against glioblastoma. Bevacizumab in particular, in the second half of the last decade, became the most significant breakthrough in anti-glioblastoma therapy since temozolomide. Optimism for bevacizumab has been somewhat challenged given recent clinical trials that have raised questions regarding its clinical effectiveness, the optimal timing of its use and the validity of endpoints, among other issues. In addition, uncertainty has recently arisen regarding the effects of bevacizumab on quality of life and neurocognitive function, two key clinical endpoints of unquestionable significance among glioblastoma patients. In this review, we highlight these controversies and other recent work related to bevacizumab for glioblastoma. Cancer 2015;121:997-1007.