INTRODUCTION: Bevacizumab is increasingly being tested with neoadjuvant regimens in patients with localized cancer, but its effects on metastasis and survival remain unknown. This study examines the long-term outcome of clinical stage II/III rectal cancer patients treated in a prospective phase II study of bevacizumab with chemoradiation and surgery. As a benchmark, we used data from an analysis of 42 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer treated with a contemporary approach of preoperative fluoropyrimidine-based radiation therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Outcome analyses were performed on 32 patients treated prospectively with neoadjuvant bevacizumab, 5-fluorouracil, radiation therapy, and surgery as well as 42 patients treated with standard fluoropyrimidine-based chemoradiation. RESULTS: Overall survival, disease-free survival, and local control showed favorable trends in patients treated with bevacizumab with chemoradiation followed by surgery. Acute and postoperative toxicity appeared acceptable. CONCLUSIONS: Neoadjuvant bevacizumab with standard chemoradiation and surgery shows promising long-term efficacy and safety profiles in locally advanced rectal cancer patients.