Abstract TP445: Bevacizumab Therapy for Brain Arteriovenous Malformations

Introduction: Brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVM) are dynamic vascular malformations and a significant source of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). Obliteration by interventional therapy is the only proven method to remove this hemorrhagic risk. Partial bAVM volume reduction using combination therapy does not lessen the risk of future ICH, though such adjuvant treatment is routinely practiced to permit definitive microsurgical resection or radiosurgery. High expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been reported in bAVM and there is evidence for the beneficial effects of bevacizumab on AVMs from studies using the hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) bAVM model and in liver AVMs in HHT patients. There is, however, no medical therapy approved to treat bAVMs. The goal of this study is to determine the beneficial effects of the anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drug, Bevacizumab, on bAVM. Hypothesis: Our hypothesis is that bAVM volume will decrease after 12 weeks of bevacizuma...