Efficacy of bevacizumab in combination with paclitaxel for metastatic breast cancer

Bevacizumab is a humanized anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) monoclonal antibody that inhibits angiogenesis. In this study, we examined bevacizumab plus paclitaxel therapy for metastatic breast cancer. We divided 20 patients into hormone-positive (estrogen receptor [ER] +or progesterone receptor [PgR] +) and hormone-negative groups (ER-and PgR-). The average number of bevacizumab plus paclitaxel therapy cycles was 3.35 (range, 1-14). The response rates for the hormone-positive and hormone-negative groups were 6.6% and 20%, respectively. Although the response rate was low in all cases, one patient who received first-line bevacizumab plus paclitaxel therapy was evaluated PR.