Combining antiangiogenic drugs and chemotherapy to treat advanced NSCLC

This study looked at a combination of chemotherapy and an antiangiogenic drug bevacizumab to treat patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. The authors concluded that this combination may have potential to control cancer in these patients.

Despite the major advances in cancer treatments in recent years, chemotherapy still remains an integral part of most treatment plans. Current research focuses on combining more modern therapies with current chemotherapy drugs to improve effectiveness. Bevacizumab (Avastin) is an antiangiogensis drug which works by slowing the growth of new blood vessels in a tumor, preventing spread of the cancer cells. Patients with newly diagnosed non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are regularly treated with bevacizumab and chemotherapy. It is possible that this combination may be beneficial for patients with advanced NSCLC.

This study treated 50 patients with advanced NSCLC with a combination of bevacizumab and chemotherapy. The chemotherapy included the IV drugs carboplatin (Paraplatin) and pemetrexed (Alimta). Following 6 cycles with all three drugs, patients were treated with bevacizumab only for up to a year.  Average follow-up was 49 weeks.

9 patients experienced grade 3-4 (more severe) side effects including thrombocytopenia (low blood platelet count) and neutropenia (low immune cell count). 3 patients were removed from the analysis due to adverse side effects.

Of the remaining 47 patients, 1 patient had a complete response (tumor disappearance) to the treatment while 27 (57.5%) patients had a partial response (at least a 30% decrease in tumor size). Average progression free survival (time from beginning trial until disease progression) was 28 weeks. Average overall survival (time from beginning trial until death) was 49 weeks.

The authors concluded that this combination of treatment may be beneficial for treating advanced NSCLC.

This study received funding from the manufacturers of pemetrexed.