Lung Cancer: Avastin Does Not Help In Advanced NSCLC

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Avastin in combination, not helpful in NSCLC.

New study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, and titled Carboplatin and Paclitaxel With vs. Without Bevacizumab in Older Patients With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, finds that Bevacizumab when added to Paclitaxel and Carboplatin chemotherapy does not improve survival in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Physicians at Dana-Farbar Cancer Institute conducted the study. It involved 4,168 patients with NSCLC and aged 65 years or above. They were all Medicare beneficiaries, diagnosed with lung cancer between 2002 and 2007. The participants were split into three groups:

Group 1 – Patients diagnosed in 2006-2007, first chemotherapy with bevacizumab-carboplatin-paclitaxel
Group 2 – Patients diagnosed during 2006-200, initial chemotherapy with carboplatin-paclitaxel
Group 3 – Patients diagnosed during 2002-2005, initial chemotherapy with carboplatin-paclitaxel

The primary outcome of the study was the overall survival measured from day one of chemotherapy until death or censoring date fixed as December 31, 2009.

One year survival rates of the groups were as follows:

Group 1 – 39.6%
Group 2 – 40.1%
Group 3 – 35.6%

Avastin or Bevacizumab is approved for use in advanced disease in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients who have not received chemotherapy. The new study suggests that triple combination for NSCLC does not improve prognosis.