Phase IV lung cancer study has confirmed the safety and outstanding efficacy benefit of Bevacizumab-based therapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer ( NSCLC ) in a real world setting.

The SAiL study has shown that Bevacizumab-based therapy resulted in a median overall survival of 14.6 months with a disease control rate of over 88% and median time to disease progression of 7.8 months.
The SAiL study also showed that Bevacizumab-based therapy offered a similar level of clinical benefit irrespective of age with elderly patients receiving the same overall survival benefit of 14.6 months.
Patients greater than 65 years were not at increased risk of experiencing adverse events of special interest when treated with first-line Bevacizumab-based therapy compared with patients less than or equal to 65 years.
SAiL is an international, multicentre, open-label, single-arm study designed to assess the safety and efficacy of first-line Bevacizumab ( Avastin ) plus chemotherapy in a daily oncology practice population. Patients with untreated locally advanced, metastatic or recurrent non-squamous NSCLC received Bevacizumab ( 7.5 or 15 mg/kg every three weeks ) plus standard chemotherapy for up to six cycles, followed by Bevacizumab until disease progression.
Interim data from the ARIES trial also confirmed the safety of Bevacizumab-based therapy for the treatment of patients with advanced NSCLC.
ARIES is an ongoing, U.S. community-based prospective, observational cohort study to assess the safety of first-line Bevacizumab with different chemotherapy regimens not included in pivotal trials, and among under-represented subgroups including the elderly, those with brain metastases and patients on anticoagulants. Choice of chemotherapy, Bevacizumab dose and schedule are by investigator decision.
The ARIES interim analysis ( based on 1,758 patients ) confirmed the safety of Bevacizumab-based therapy for the treatment of patients with NSCLC, with adverse event rates consistent with previous reports. Rates of grade greater than or equal to 3 bleeding were low ( 3.2% ) in patients who received Bevacizumab-based therapy. Incidence of severe pulmonary haemorrhage was also low ( 0.7% ).

Bevacizumab is an antibody that specifically binds and blocks VEGF ( vascular endothelial growth factor ). VEGF is the key driver of tumour angiogenesis, an essential process of development and maintenance of blood vessels which is required for a tumour to grow and to spread to other parts of the body.
Bevacizumab has proven survival benefits across multiple tumour types.
Avastin is approved in Europe for the treatment of the advanced stages of four common types of cancer: colorectal cancer, breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer ( NSCLC ) and kidney cancer. These types of cancer collectively cause nearly 3 million deaths each year.
In the US, Avastin was the first anti-angiogenesis therapy approved by the FDA ( Food and Drug Administration ) and is now approved for the treatment of five tumour types: colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, glioblastoma, and renal cell carcinoma.

Source: ECCO / ESMO, 2009

Xagena Medicine_2009