Angiogenesis in endometrial carcinoma: Therapies and biomarkers, current options, and future perspectives

Endometrial carcinoma is the most common gynecologic malignancy and the fourth most prevalent cancer in women in the modern world. Despite a relatively high chance of surgical cure, for patients with advanced or recurrent disease there are few therapeutic options. Angiogenesis has been extensively studied ever since vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was discovered in the 1980s. Several clinical trials of anti-angiogenic therapy in endometrial carcinoma have been conducted, with mixed results, and many researchers have tried to determine prognostic and therapeutic biomarkers. Recent trials, which shed new light on possible treatment biomarkers and efficacious combination therapies, are reviewed in this text. While we are still far from effectively tailoring anti-angiogenic treatment to each patient, these data have provided valuable insight and have put us on track for the discovery of novel opportunities for angiogenesis therapy in endometrial carcinoma.