Treatment of diuretic refractory pleural effusions with bevacizumab in four patients with primary systemic amyloidosis

Abstract

Refractory pleural effusions present a challenging management problem and are associated with a poor prognosis in patients with primary systemic amyloidosis (AL). We report a series of four patients with AL who presented with bilateral pleural effusions that were refractory to diuretic therapy. After treatment with bevacizumab, an antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibody, three of the four patients had improvement in their pleural effusions, peripheral edema, and functional status. Additional studies are needed to further define the role of bevacizumab in the management of this group of patients.