Antiangiogenic therapies in breast cancer.

Angiogenesis is a complex, multistep process that is involved in the progression and prognosis of several types of cancer. In particular, it has been demonstrated that angiogenesis plays a central role in the progression of breast cancer. This review evaluates results from clinical trials in which the efficacy of conventional chemotherapeutic agents was compared with that of novel antiangiogenic compounds for the treatment of breast cancer, and provides a summary of trials that were ongoing at the time of publication in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings.