In a nutshell
This study investigated whether paclitaxel (Taxol) alone, or paclitaxel combined with bevacizumab (Avastin), had better outcomes in treating metastatic breast cancer. The authors found that paclitaxel with bevacizumab combination resulted in much better overall survival times (time from treatment until death from any cause) and progression-free survival times (time from treatment until disease progression).
Some background
Breast cancer that is metastatic (has spread to other parts of the body) is not yet curable, but a number of therapies can be used to prolong life. Many treatments and combinations of treatments can be used to prevent the cancer spreading further. It can be difficult to measure whether drug combinations are more successful at increasing survival time.
Paclitaxel is a chemotherapy agent that prevents cancer cells from multiplying. Bevacizumab is a different type of treatment that blocks the growth of the blood vessels a tumor needs to grow. Whether the two drugs combined are more effective than paclitaxel alone in improving survival times is unclear.
Methods & findings
This study included 2,127 patients who received paclitaxel with bevacizumab, and 1,299 patients who received paclitaxel alone. Patients in the combination group on average received paclitaxel-based chemotherapy for longer (5 months versus 3.7 months). The combination group received bevacizumab for an average of 5 months. Patients were also undergoing other cancer therapies during the study. Patients in the combination group were followed for an average of 33.8 months. Patients treated with paclitaxal alone were followed for an average of 27.2 months.
Average overall survival was 27.7 months for the combination group. This was significantly longer than the 19.8 months for paclitaxel alone. Progression-free survival was also longer for the combination group (8.1 months) compared to paclitaxel alone (6.4 months).
The bottom line
The study concluded that the combination of bevacizumab and paclitaxel led to longer overall survival and progression-free survival times.
The fine print
This was a retrospective study of patients in specific cancer centers. It does not discuss any differences in side effects experienced by the patients.
Published By :
Annals of oncology
Date :
Jul 19, 2016
