Early treatment with Avastin for GBM not recommended - Genentech/Roche

A new study to test whether earlier use of Avastin (bevacizumab), from Genentech/Roche, in patients with Brain Cancer can provide benefit suggests that the drug offer no advantage in survival. Six hundred and twenty one patients with Glioblastoma were treated with Avastin or a placebo starting at week 4 of radiotherapy and continued every 2 weeks until 1) disease progression, or 2) severe treatment-related toxicity, or 3) completion of adjuvant therapy.

At a median follow-up time of 20.5 months, there was no statistical difference in overall survival between the two study arms (median 16.1 months for the standard-treatment arm vs. 15.7 months for the bevacizumab arm). Although there was a difference in progression-free survival (PFS) (7.3 months for the placebo arm vs. 10.7 months for the bevacizumab arm), the pre-established level of benefit for PFS was not reached. This suggests that the upfront use of bevacizumab is not indicated.