Addition of Bevacizumab to Chemo for Small-Cell Lung Cancer Fails to Improve Outcomes

the Cancer Therapy Advisor take:

According to a recent study published in the journal Annals of Oncology, researchers have found that the addition of bevacizumab at a dose of 7.5mg/kg to chemotherapy after induction did not improve outcome in previously untreated patients with extensive small-cell lung cancer (SCLC).

For this phase II-III study, researchers sought to evaluate the efficacy and safety of adding bevacizumab to chemotherapy following induction chemotherapy in patients with extensive SCLC.

Researchers enrolled 147 patients to receive two induction cycles of chemotherapy. Of those, 74 were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive four additional cycles of either chemotherapy alone or chemotherapy plus bevacizumab 7.5mg/kg, followed by bevacizumab alone until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Results showed that disease control did not differ between the two groups at the end of the fourth cycle (89.2% versus 91.9% of patients remaining responders in chemotherapy alone versus chemotherapy plus bevacizumab groups, respectively).

In addition, median progression-free survival did not significantly differ either (5.5 months versus 5.3 months in chemotherapy alone versus chemotherapy plus bevacizumab groups, respectively).

In regard to safety, Grade ≥2 hypertension and Grade ≥3 thrombotic events occurred in 40% and 11% of patients, respectively, in the bevacizumab group.