Two study groups reported in the December 29, 2011, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine the findings of their Phase III investigations of use of the targeted therapy Avastin (bevacizumab) in advanced ovarian cancer (CaO).
The ICON7 Investigators assessed the use of Avastin in a trial involving 1,528 women, 70% of whom had Stage IIIc or Stage IV CaO. One group received standard therapy of carboplatin and paclitaxel and the other received the standard therapy plus Avastin. At 36 months, progression-free survival in the standard therapy arm was 20.3 months; in the standard+Avastin group, it was 21.8 months. At 42 months, progression-free survival was 22.4 and 24.1 months, respectively. Patients at high risk of progression achieved a greater benefit with Avastin; progression-free survival among these patients at 42 months was 14.5 months in the standard therapy group and 18.1 months in the standard+Avastin group. For these high-risk patients, overall survival was 28.8 months and 36.6 months, respectively.
The Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) enrolled 1,873 women with newly diagnosed Stage III or IV CaO and randomized them into three arms. One group received standard therapy of paclitaxel and carboplatin; another, the Avastin-initiation group, received standard therapy plus Avastin in cycles 2-6; the third, the Avastin-throughout group, received standard therapy plus Avastin in cycles 2-22. Progression-free survival at 10.3 months was assessed. In the standard therapy group, it was 10.3 months; in the Avastin-initiation group, it was 11.2 months; and in the Avastin-throughout group, it was 14.1 months.
The GOG group's lead investigator, Robert A. Burger, M.D., said of the findings: "This approach can be looked upon as a third major component of treatment for ovarian cancer and related malignancies. This represents a new way for us to control the disease."
Labels: Avastin, clinical trials, ovarian cancer, targeted therapy










