For patients diagnosed with brain cancer, new antiangiogenic treatments are dramatically altering the way this disease is being treated. While bevacizumab is presently the only FDA approved angiogenesis inhibitor for brain cancer, other drugs are in late stage clinical trials and some are being used in the clinic in patients who have stopped responding to front-line treatments. Improved outcomes with antianiogenic therapies are now common, compared to the harsher, less effective treatments of the past. Therapies that block the growth of tumor blood vessels give patients reason for hope and optimism.

It is important for patients and their families to remember that clinical trials are an important opportunity to gain access to even newer cutting edge cancer therapies. Clinical trials also contribute to the advancement of medical knowledge that can benefit future generations.