Avastin (Roche/Genentech) prevents spread of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in Phase II trial

Combining Avastin (bevacizumab), from Roche/Genentech, with standard chemoradiation therapy is safe and could prolong survival in patients with advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, according to a new Phase II trial. The results indicate that Avastin might be more effective at preventing the spread of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma to other parts of the body, the most common cause of death in patients with advanced disease. In the study of 46 untreated patients, Avastin was added to the concurrent and adjuvant phases of chemotherapy with cisplatin and fluorouracil. The new combination treatment resulted in over 90% of patients surviving 2 years with no distant metastases and 75% of patients without the disease getting worse. The Avastin regimen did not appear to significantly increase toxicity or affect compliance with treatment compared to that seen historically with standard chemoradiotherapy alone. The most common grade 3 or higher adverse events were blood or bone marrow related complications and acute mucositis (painful inflammation of mucous membranes in mouth). The study, led by Nancy Lee from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, was published Online First in The Lancet Oncology. See: "Addition of bevacizumab to standard chemoradiation for locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (RTOG 0615): a phase 2 multi-institutional trial." By Nancy Y Lee et al. The Lancet Oncology, Early Online Publication, 16 December 2011 doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(11)70303-5