Bevacizumab
AvastinRCSB PDB 7V5N · 3D model
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A lab-made antibody that grabs onto VEGF, a signal tumors send out to grow new blood vessels, cutting off the blood supply they need to keep growing and spreading.
How it works
Tumors need a constant blood supply to keep growing, so they release a signaling protein called VEGF that tells the body to build new blood vessels toward them. Bevacizumab is an antibody that intercepts VEGF before it can deliver that message, essentially starving the tumor of the new vessels it needs. It's given as an IV infusion, usually alongside chemotherapy or other cancer drugs rather than on its own.
What it’s used for
Used to treat several types of advanced cancer, usually paired with chemotherapy or other cancer drugs rather than by itself, including colorectal cancer, a common type of lung cancer, brain tumors, kidney cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, and liver cancer that can't be surgically removed.
- Mechanism
- VEGF-A inhibitor (mAb)
- Drug class
- Monoclonal antibody
- Therapeutic area
- Oncology