Tiainen L, Korhonen EA, Leppänen VM, et al. - Among metastatic breast cancer patients who received first-line taxane-bevacizumab combination chemotherapy in a phase 2 trial, researchers focused on the possible association of plasma angiopoietin-2 (Ang2) and the soluble extracellular domain of Tie1 levels and prognosis. Of 65 patients treated in the trial, 58 (89%) patients had plasma samples available. Significantly lower baseline Tie1 levels were detected among healthy controls vs metastatic patients. In patients with metastatic breast cancer, the prognostic value of baseline Tie1 plasma level was shown for the first time in this study. The overall survival of the patients with a high baseline Tie1 level was significantly shorter; the progression-free survival was shorter for patients with a high baseline Tie1 level. In a multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis, baseline Ang2 levels had no prognostic value, but the poorest survival was reported among patients with both high Tie1 and Ang2 levels before treatment, as revealed when the results of the Ang2 analyses were integrated.