Novel anti-angiogenic therapies in ovarian cancer

Abstract

The dawn of the new millennium heralded the era of novel biological agents in the treatment of advanced cancers. Foremost have been the anti-angiogenic compounds led by the confirmation of bevacizumab as a key component of front-line therapy in advanced colorectal cancer in 2004. Ovarian cancer is one of only a few solid tumours that responds to single-agent anti-VEGF therapy. VEGF inhibitors are also active when administered in combination with chemotherapy in a variety of settings including chemonaïve patients and in combination with metronomic chemotherapy for recurrent disease. This review focuses on the emergent data of new anti-angiogenic therapies in advanced ovarian cancer. We describe the developments to date, ongoing pivotal studies and critically appraise the role of novel anti-angiogenics in the treatment of ovarian cancer. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.