Targeted chemotherapy has gradually become the mainstay of cancer treatment in present day. Targeted medications such as trastuzumab, bevacizumab and lapatinib have recently been more extensively adopted for many cancers, particularly breast cancer. Among these targeted medications, bevacizumab is a monoclonal antibody acting on vascular endothelial growth factor receptor and it works by preventing the formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis). Published articles indicated that monotherapy of bevacizumab on breast cancer showed only a 9-17% response rate, while combining with paclitaxel, the treatment outcome appeared to improve progression-free survival and the objective response rate. We are curious about the additive effect of bevacizumab on conventional chemotherapy, the toxicities induced when combined target therapy with conventional chemotherapy and the duration of remission that these treatment could achieve. In this study, we utilized bevacizumab, docetaxel plus cisplatin for metastatic breast cancer patients and furthermore, we are evaluated the treatment response, toxicities and duration of remission as our main goals.
Bevacizumab is a monoclonal antibody currently used for the treatment of colorectal cancer. It works by preventing the formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis). The drug has been shown to inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) activity. Previous research showed positive findings in other solid tumors that had metastasized. In this study, the investigators are investigating the response of adding bevacizumab to conventional chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer patients.