Positive data from Phase III trial of Avastin (Genentech/Roche) for Colorectal Cancer patients

Results from ML18147, a Phase III study in metastatic Colorectal Cancer that evaluated Avastin (bevacizumab), from Genentech/Roche, continued with second-line chemotherapy in people who received initial Avastin plus first-line chemotherapy, show the study met its primary endpoint of a significant increase in overall survival. In the study, the relative risk of death was reduced by 19 percent for people who continued with Avastin plus second-line chemotherapy compared to those who received chemotherapy alone. People who continued with Avastin plus second-line chemotherapy also experienced a significant improvement in progression-free survival; the risk of their cancer progressing was reduced by 32 percent. Adverse events were consistent with those seen in previous pivotal trials of Avastin across tumour types. Results are presented by by Professor Dirk Arnold, ML18147 principal investigator and associate professor of medicine at the Department of Hematology and Oncology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany, at the Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.