Spotlight on bevacizumab in advanced colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer.

Abstract

Bevacizumab (Avastin) is a humanized recombinant antibody that prevents vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor binding, and inhibits angiogenesis and tumor growth. In patients receiving an irinotecan plus fluorouracil/leucovorin (IFL) regimen for first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, the addition of bevacizumab significantly increased overall survival by 4.7 months relative to IFL plus placebo. In the second-line treatment of advanced colorectal cancer, patients who received bevacizumab in combination with a fluorouracil/leucovorin plus oxaliplatin (FOLFOX4) regimen had an overall survival time that was 2 months longer than that in patients receiving FOLFOX4. Preliminary results indicated that bevacizumab significantly extended progression-free survival by 4.9 months in patients receiving paclitaxel for the first-line treatment of locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer. The addition of bevacizumab to paclitaxel plus carboplatin in the first-line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) significantly prolonged overall survival by >2 months. Bevacizumab has acceptable tolerability in patients with advanced colorectal cancer, breast cancer, or NSCLC, with the majority of adverse events being generally mild and clinically manageable. Thus, bevacizumab provides a highly effective addition to standard chemotherapeutic regimens for advanced colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and NSCLC.

• Authors: Katherine A Lyseng-Williamson, Dean M Robinson
• Journal: BioDrugs : clinical immunotherapeutics, biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy (BioDrugs) Vol. 20 Issue 3 Pg. 193-5 ( 2006) ISSN: 1173-8804 [Print] New Zealand
• PMID: 16724868 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• Angiogenesis Inhibitors
• Antibodies, Monoclonal
• Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
• Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
• Bevacizumab

Topics

• Angiogenesis Inhibitors (therapeutic use)
• Antibodies, Monoclonal (therapeutic use)
• Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
• Bevacizumab
• Breast Neoplasms (drug therapy, secondary)
• Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung (drug therapy, secondary)
• Clinical Trials as Topic
• Colorectal Neoplasms (drug therapy, secondary)
• Humans
• Lung Neoplasms (drug therapy)
• Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A (antagonists & inhibitors)