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Avastin® prolongs progression-free survival for certain cancer types
Source: (cancerfacts.com)
Friday, December 18, 2009
Second of four summaries of studies presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer conference Dec. 9-13
SAN ANTONIO – Dec. 18, 2009 – In a study of advanced breast cancer, researchers have found that taking a drug that blocks blood vessel growth after chemotherapy significantly lengthened the time the tumor growth is halted in women whose tumors do not over produce the HER2 protein.
The RIBBON-2 clinical trial is the third to show that adding bevacizumab (Avastin®) to chemotherapy extends progression-free survival in women whose breast cancer has spread, or metastasized to other parts of the body.
"Potentially, we have another biologic agent that can improve the survival or at least the progression-free survival of women with metastatic breast cancer," said Dr. Adam Brufsky, associate professor of medicine, associate chief of hematology-oncology and associate director of clinical investigation, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.
"Clearly, this may be an indication to use bevacizumab in this setting, but we really have to consider the results of this trial in terms of how best to use these drugs in metastatic breast cancer," he added.
Results of three phase III studies - E2100, AVADO and RIBBON-1 - have shown the clinical benefit of adding bevacizumab to chemotherapy as a first-line metastatic breast cancer treatment. Brufsky and colleagues designed RIBBON-2 to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of adding bevacizumab to chemotherapy as a second-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer.
The study included 684 patients in 19 countries at 211 sites. Patients were eligible if they met the following criteria: they had one prior chemotherapy treatment for metastatic breast cancer, they were able to perform most daily activities, they had no central nervous system metastases, and their tumors did not over produce the HER2 protein.
The primary endpoint was progression-free survival; secondary endpoints included overall survival, overall response rate, duration of response and safety. Researchers randomly assigned patients to chemotherapy plus bevacizumab or chemotherapy plus placebo.
The results were predictable, Brufsky said. Adding bevacizumab to various chemotherapy regimens as a second-line metastatic breast cancer treatment significantly improved progression-free survival.
"The fact that bevacizumab has a benefit in first- and second-line treatment really begs the question: Should we be giving this drug to someone through the entire course of metastatic disease?" he said.
To address this question, Brufsky and colleagues are considering conducting a long-term clinical trial that compares bevacizumab or no bevacizumab treatment in women with metastatic breast cancer.
SOURCE: adapted from press materials provided by the American Association for Cancer Research
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