Bevacizumab plus paclitaxel prolongs breast cancer survival
Posted: March 22, 2006
LONDON (Reuters) - Combining the humanized monoclonal antibody bevacizumab (Avastin) with standard chemotherapy that includes paclitaxel (Taxol) can prolong progression-free survival in patients with locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer, scientists reported Wednesday at the 5th European Breast Cancer Conference in Nice, France. In a phase III trial involving 722 such breast cancer patients, women randomized to paclitaxel plus bevacizumab had response rates of 29.9%, compared with 13.8% among women randomized to paclitaxel plus placebo.
Dr. Robin Zon, of Michiana Hematology-Oncology in South Bend, Indiana, who presented the findings, said the drug combination controlled the cancer almost twice as long. The duration of stable disease was 11.4 months in the bevacizumab group compared with only 6.11 months in the placebo group.
The researchers also noted a trend toward improved overall survival in the combination group compared with the control group (28.4 vs. 25.2 months, respectively).
The combination treatment was "generally well tolerated," but increased rates of hypertension, proteinuria and bleeding of grades 3 or 4 were more common in women who received bevacizumab.
"These results are good news for people with breast cancer," Dr. Zon said of the trial, sponsored by the US National Cancer Institute. "The next step will be introducing the new drug in patients whose breast cancer has not progressed to metastasis," Dr. Zon added in a statement.
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