Pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma (PPC) is a rare disease with a poor prognosis. Chemotherapy regimens used to date have not been effective against PPC; thus, a new treatment strategy is needed. Here, we report two patients with PPC who were effectively treated with a chemotherapy regimen including bevacizumab. Both patients received carboplatin/paclitaxel/bevacizumab and showed a partial response. As patients with PPC have been reported to show high expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the tumor specimens from the presented patients also showed high expression of VEGF. Therefore, a chemotherapy regimen including a VEGF inhibitor such as bevacizumab is a promising treatment for patients with PPC.
Keywords: bevacizumab,; chemotherapy,; pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma,; vascular endothelial growth factor.
Copyright © 2015 The Japanese Respiratory Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.