Is there a Role for Bevacizumab in Non-Glial Tumors?

Angiogenesis is one of the hallmarks of cancer, including brain tumors. The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family and their receptors are of utmost importance in the complex interaction between pro- and anti-angiogenic factors, and have a crucial role in tumor angiogenesis. Up to date, targeting the VEGF pathway with specific drugs has yielded interesting results in oncology. In particular bevacizumab (Bev), a humanized monoclonal antibody against VEGF-A, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in recurrent glioblastomas failing standard radio-chemotherapy. Bevacizumab is now being extensively investigated in several non-glial brain tumors, such as vestibular schwannomas, meningiomas, ependymomas, medulloblastomas and miscellaneous histotypes. The aim of this review is to reevaluate the literature on the use of Bev in non-glial brain tumors.