Bevacizumab/Chemo Combination Approved for Treating Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Publication
Article
OncologyONCOLOGY Vol 20 No 8
Volume 20
Issue 8

Genentech Inc, recently announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved bevacizumab (Avastin) in combination with intravenous fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy for second-line metastatic colorectal cancer.

Genentech Inc, recently announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved bevacizumab (Avastin) in combination with intravenous fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy for second-line metastatic colorectal cancer. Bevacizumab is also approved as a first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) in combination with intravenous 5-FU-based chemotherapy.

The approval is based on results of a randomized, controlled, multicenter phase III trial (E3200) of 829 patients with advanced or metastatic CRC who had received previous treatment with irinotecan and 5-FU as initial therapy for metastatic disease or as adjuvant therapy. The study showed that patients who received bevacizumab plus the 5-FU-based chemotherapy regimen known as FOLFOX4 (oxaliplatin [Eloxatin]/5‑FU/leucovorin) had a 25% reduction in the risk of death (hazard ratio = 0.75), the primary endpoint, which is equivalent to a 33% improvement in overall survival, compared to patients who received FOLFOX4 alone. Median survival for patients receiving bevacizumab plus FOLFOX4 was 13.0 months, compared to 10.8 months for those receiving FOLFOX4 alone.

Newsletter

Stay up to date on recent advances in the multidisciplinary approach to cancer.

Recent Videos
Those being treated for peritoneal carcinomatosis may not have to experience the complication rates or prolonged recovery associated with surgical options.
For patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis, integrating PIPAC into a treatment regimen does not interrupt their systemic therapy.
According to Benjamin J. Golas, MD, PIPAC could be used as a bridging therapy before surgical debulking or between subsequent large surgical operations.
According to Benjamin Golas, MD, PIPAC is emerging as minimally invasive laparoscopic approach for patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis.
According to Ronan J. Kelly, deciding whether to give nivolumab- or durvalumab-based regimens in gastric cancers may rely on a patient’s frailty.
Five-year follow-up revealed that patients treated with nivolumab vs placebo in the phase 3 CheckMate 577 trial experienced a “doubling” of survival.
Patients treated with nivolumab in the phase 3 CheckMate 577 trial were less likely to experience progression-related treatment discontinuation vs placebo.
Testing a patient’s genetics may influence decisions such as using longer courses of radiotherapy, says Rachit Kumar, MD.