Painful cervical esophageal erosion in a patient with advanced colorectal cancer treated with bevacizumab.

摘要

Bevacizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A), an important cytokine with antiangiogenic properties [1]. It is commonly used in addition to fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy for the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer (CRC), both in first and second lines of therapy [2]. Bevacizumab is considered to be a well tolerated and safe drug. The most common adverse events reported are proteinuria and hypertension [1]. Gastrointestinal (GI) perforation is a well-known serious complication of bevacizumab use, occurring in ~1% of the cases [3]. The development of GI ulcers (with or without perforation) has been recently described in patients treated with bevacizumab [4].