Dr. McDonald on the Continued Understanding of Bevacizumab

Donald M. McDonald, MD, PhD, a professor in the Department of Anatomy and an investigator in the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of California, San Francisco, Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses how the knowledge of bevacizumab (Avastin) has evolved since it was first approved for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) 7 years ago.

McDonald draws the analogy that while 7 years may seem long that other drugs, such as aspirin, have been in use for 120 years and are still being investigated and fully understood.

The molecular aspects of bevacizumab have not changed and are currently understood, but the overall physiological impact of the drug is still being investigated. The effects on the tumor and the rest of the body from inhibiting angiogenesis by blocking VEGF are becoming bettering understood.