A number of orally administered antiangiogenic drugs are in development for metastatic breast cancer. Study results for most of these newer agents, however, are quite preliminary at this point. Sunitinib (Sutent^®), an antiangiogenic drug approved to treat advanced kidney and liver cancer, showed promise in an initial study in metastatic breast cancer. However, a larger clinical trial was halted due to a higher than expected frequency of side effects in breast cancer patients who received sunitinib. Other clinical trials of sunitinib in metastatic breast cancer are ongoing.

Another oral agent approved to treat kidney and liver cancers, sorafenib (Nexavar^®), is also being evaluated in several breast cancer studies. In one study, the combination of Sorafenib and capecitabine reduced the risk of metastatic breast cancer progression by 42%.⁹ In another study, a combination of sorafenib and paclitaxel improved progression-free survival by about 20%.¹⁰