Incorporation of Bevacizumab in the Primary Treatment of Ovarian Cancer

• Published in: The New England journal of medicine Vol. 365; no. 26; pp. 2473 - 2483
• Main Authors: Burger, Robert A, Brady, Mark F, Bookman, Michael A, Fleming, Gini F, Monk, Bradley J, Huang, Helen, Mannel, Robert S, Homesley, Howard D, Fowler, Jeffrey, Greer, Benjamin E, Boente, Matthew, Birrer, Michael J, Liang, Sharon X
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Waltham, MA Massachusetts Medical Society 29.12.2011
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Angiogenesis; Angiogenesis Inhibitors - adverse effects; Angiogenesis Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized - adverse effects; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized - therapeutic use; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - adverse effects; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Bevacizumab; Biological and medical sciences; Body weight; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Carboplatin; Carboplatin - administration & dosage; Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial; Chemotherapy; Combined Modality Therapy; Disease-Free Survival; Double-Blind Method; Female; Female genital diseases; General aspects; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Humans; Immunotherapy; Intravenous administration; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Monoclonal antibodies; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial - drug therapy; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial - mortality; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial - surgery; Ovarian cancer; Ovarian Neoplasms - drug therapy; Ovarian Neoplasms - mortality; Ovarian Neoplasms - surgery; Paclitaxel; Paclitaxel - administration & dosage; Patients; Quality of Life; Surgery; Survival; Survival Analysis; Targeted cancer therapy; Tumors; Vascular endothelial growth factor; Young Adult; United States > US; Antineoplastic agent; Incorporation; Ovary cancer; Monoclonal antibody; Malignant tumor; Female genital diseases; Bevacizumab; First line treatment; Immunomodulator; Medicine; Ovarian diseases; Vascular endothelium growth factor; Antiangiogenic agent; Cancer; Primary cancer
• ISSN: 0028-4793; 1533-4406
• DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1104390

Incorporating bevacizumab in a chemotherapy regimen (7.5 mg/kg every 3 weeks for five or six cycles) and then continuing bevacizumab alone for a total of 12 months of treatment extended progression-free survival in advanced and high-risk early-stage ovarian cancer. Epithelial ovarian cancer and related cancers lead to 15,000 deaths in the United States annually, representing the fifth leading cause of death from cancer among women. 1 The poor prognosis is usually attributed to advanced stage at diagnosis and inadequate chemotherapy. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and angiogenesis are important promoters of ovarian-cancer progression. 2 – 6 Both correlate directly with the extent of disease and inversely with progression-free survival 7 – 9 and overall survival, 8 , 10 – 13 often independently of known prognostic factors. 7 – 10 , 12 , 13 Bevacizumab, a humanized VEGF-neutralizing monoclonal antibody, inhibits tumor angiogenesis 14 and has shown single-agent activity in phase 2 epithelial . . .