It appears that VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) is the main driver for low and high grade malignant gliomas. These tumors, as one would expect, also harbor high concentrations of VEGF receptors. In fact, tumor VEGF receptor concentration appears to be directly related to poor clinical outcomes. This would make perfect sense as VEGF development was based on Glioblastoma Multiforme xenograft models.
No wonder, Bevacizumab (AVASTIN), a humanized antibody targeting VEGF in combination with chemotherapy, improved response rates, progression free survival and overall survival.
