Metastatic breast cancer: Bevacizumab slows progression, but has no impact on survival
The cancer drug bevacizumab (Avastin) offers only a modest benefit in delaying disease progression in patients with advanced stage breast cancer, according to a systematic review by Cochrane researchers. The researchers assessed the efficacy of bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy, an established cancer treatment in this indication, and found no overall survival benefit when adding bevacizumab to chemotherapy.
Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer death among women. If it spreads to other parts of the body it is referred to as "metastatic" and the cancer becomes much more difficult to treat. One promising approach is drugs that target vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a key molecule mediating growth of blood vessels in tumours. At present, trials of drugs that target VEGF are limited to bevacizumab, which is the first drug of this type to be approved for metastatic breast cancer.
To assess the clinical value of bevacizumab in combination with other established chemotherapy drugs, the researchers gathered evidence from seven trials involving a total of 4,032 patients, most of whom had metastatic breast cancer. They found that adding bevacizumab to established drug regimens increased the time to tumour progression or death by between one and six months, depending on the chemotherapy drugs prescribed. However, the researchers found that adding bevacizumab to first- or second-line treatments did not increase overall survival or quality of life.
"At best, adding bevacizumab to standard chemotherapy appears to offer a modest benefit for those with metastatic breast cancer," said lead researcher, Anna Dorothea Wagner, of the Fondation du Centre Pluridisciplinaire d'Oncologie, University Hospital Lausanne, Switzerland. "Whether it can truly be of benefit to the patient is debatable, because it only briefly prolongs progression of the disease. No impact on the patient's overall survival or quality of life has been demonstrated."
According to the researchers, clinical trials testing new drugs for advanced stage breast cancer should follow patients until death in order to understand the impact of new treatments on survival. "The fact that an increase in progression-free survival does not lead to an increase in overall survival suggests that progression-free survival may not be a reliable surrogate for clinical trials in metastatic cancer," said Wagner.
In 2011, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) removed breast cancer from indications on the label of bevacizumab, due to concerns about serious side effects and doubts about its benefit in terms of overall survival. By contrast, it is approved for first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer in Europe, in combination with the cancer drug paclitaxel, as well as in combination with capecitabine for patients with metastatic cancer who are not eligible for treatment with taxanes or anthracyclines.
More information: Wagner AD, Thomssen C, Haerting J, Unverzagt S. Vascular-endothelial-growth-factor (VEGF) targeting therapies for endocrine refractory or resistant metastatic breast cancer. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012, Issue 7. Art. No.: CD008941. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD008941.pub2
Provided by
Wiley
-
ASCO: Continuing avastin with 2nd-line chemo ups survival
Jun 05, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Addition of bevacizumab to conventional therapy improved progression-free survival in HER2-positive breast cancer
Dec 08, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Advanced lung cancer patients see improved, progression-free survival
Nov 13, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
US revokes Roche's Avastin for breast cancer
Nov 18, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Phase III efficacy data on bevacizumab plus chemotherapy in early breast cancer to be presented
Dec 10, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions
Apr 23, 2013 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
-
Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update)
Apr 02, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
5
-
The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation
Mar 30, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
9
-
Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled
Mar 27, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
-
Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance
Feb 28, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
14
-
Why is zone 1 in liver more prone to ischemic injury?
May 23, 2013
-
How can there be villous adenoma in colon, if there are no villi there
May 22, 2013
-
How can there be a term called "intestinal metaplasia" of stomach
May 21, 2013
-
Pressure-volume curve: Elastic Recoil Pressure don't make sense
May 18, 2013
-
If you became brain-dead, would you want them to pull the plug?
May 17, 2013
-
MRI bill question
May 15, 2013
- More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences
More news stories
Researcher identifies breast cancer fighting hormone
Transformative research from Western University has identified new hormones in the body which may suppress breast cancer and stimulate the regression of breast tumors.
Cancer
11 minutes ago |
not rated yet |
0
Ground breaking cancer research finds immune system link
(Medical Xpress)—Curtin University researchers have found evidence that targeting specific cells in the body can reverse the effects of cancer on the immune system.
Cancer
22 minutes ago |
not rated yet |
0
How the EU could help more children survive cancer
A leading expert in childhood cancer at The University of Nottingham is spearheading a Europe-wide lobby of the European Parliament to try to make it easier for doctors to develop and test new treatments on children and young ...
Cancer
1 hour ago |
not rated yet |
0
Study: No higher cancer rate at Conn. Pratt plant
(AP)—Researchers examining the incidence of brain cancer at jet engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut say they have found no statistically significant elevations in the rate of cancer among workers.
Cancer
2 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Hormone replacement therapy—clarity at last
The British Menopause Society and Women's Health Concern have today released updated guidelines on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) to provide clarity around the role of HRT, the benefits and the risks. The new guidelines ...
Cancer
4 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Alzheimer's disease, the soft target of the euthanasia debate
(Medical Xpress)—The way Alzheimer's disease is portrayed by advocacy groups and the media is having undue influence on the euthanasia debate, according to a Deakin University nursing ethics professor.
Depression raises diabetics' risk of severe low blood sugar episodes
(Medical Xpress)—Patients with diabetes who are depressed are much more likely to develop episodes of dangerously low blood sugars, or hypoglycemia, than are those who are not depressed, a new study has ...
Reducing experimental inflammatory arthritis
(Medical Xpress)—UCD researchers led by Conway Fellow, Professor David Brayden in UCD School of Veterinary Medicine have successfully reduced inflammation in the swollen arthritic knees of a murine model using a novel nanoparticle.
Patenting the human genome
Can human genes be patented? That was the question posed by Alan J. Snyder, vice president and associate provost for research and graduate studies at Lehigh, and Lee Kaplan, scientific director of cellular and molecular genetics ...
New parenting program benefits ADHD children
A new program for treating the emotional health of mothers of children with ADHD has shown significant benefits for the children themselves, finds a new study by University of Maryland researchers. The program combines treatment ...
Cardiac study used as source for new guidelines on treating people undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery
Cardiac research from the University of Alberta had serious impact as a source for the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association's new guidelines on how to treat patients undergoing coronary artery ...