Bevacizumab

Bevacizumab for Cancer Treatment

What Should I Tell My Healthcare Provider?

You should talk with your healthcare provider prior to taking bevacizumab if you have:

Heart disease
A history of heart attack, stroke, or blood clot
Congestive heart failure (CHF)
Kidney disease, including kidney failure (renal failure)
Any infection or fever
High blood pressure (hypertension)
Any allergies, including allergies to food, dyes, or preservatives.

Also, let your healthcare provider know if you are:

Pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant (see Avastin and Pregnancy)
Breastfeeding (see Avastin and Breastfeeding)
Planning to have a surgery.

Make sure to tell your healthcare provider about all medicines you are taking, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

(Click Precautions and Warnings With Bevacizumab to learn more, including information on who should not take the drug.)

How Does Bevacizumab Work?

Bevacizumab is part of a group of medications known as monoclonal antibodies. The drug is an antibody that is designed to bind to and inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). VEGF is a naturally occurring protein that encourages the growth of new blood vessels (including those that feed cancers). By binding to VEGF, bevacizumab prevents this protein from encouraging new blood vessel growth, essentially helping to "starve" the cancer of its blood supply. Because the drug does not directly kill cells, it is not considered a chemotherapy medication and does not cause many of the usual chemotherapy side effects. However, it is approved only to be used in combination with chemotherapy.

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