The present invention relates to methods for improving the overall survival of a patient suffering from a malignant disease or a disease involving physiological and pathological angiogenesis by treatment with an angiogenesis inhibitor, such as bevacizumab, by determining the presence of one or more variant alleles of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VEGFR-1) gene. The present invention further provides methods for improving the progression-free survival of a patient suffering from a malignant disease or a disease involving physiological and pathological angiogenesis by treatment with an angiogenesis inhibitor, such as bevacizumab, by determining the presence of one or more variant alleles of the VEGFR-1 gene. The present invention also provides for methods for assessing the responsiveness of a patient to an angiogenesis inhibitor by determining the presence of one or more variant alleles of the VEGFR-1 gene.