Benefits of Avastin (Roche) for older patients with NSCLC are not clear

Adding Avastin (Roche) to the standard chemotherapy regimen for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) � an approach approved by the FDA in 2006 � does not lead to significantly increased survival rates for patients over the age of 65, a new study shows. A previous trial found that adding Avastin to the standard two-drug treatment for NSCLC � the chemotherapy agents carboplatin and paclitaxel � improved survival in many patients with advanced disease, but not those aged 65 years or older. The new study measured survival rates in patients who received bevacizumab-carboplatin-paclitaxel therapy and in two groups of patients who received carboplatin-paclitaxel therapy � one group receiving it in 2006-2007, the other in 2002-2005. It found that the median overall survival was 9.7 months for patients receiving the three-drug combination compared with 8.9 months for the 2006-2007 standard-therapy group, and 8.0 months for the 2002-2005 standard-therapy group. There was no significant difference in overall survival between patients treated with bevacizumab and those treated only with standard chemotherapy. The study is being published in the April 18 Journal of the American Medical Association. According to senior author Deborah Schrag of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Avastin should not automatically be administered together with carboplatin-paclitaxel for older patients with NSCLC. See: JAMA. 2012;307[15]:1593-1601