The medication bevacizumab seems to be extremely beneficial in the battle against cancer. According to a large Phase-III trial, inclusion of bevacizumab in chemotherapy as a treatment for newly diagnosed ovarian cancer lowers threats of disease progression during the first year of treatment. The findings have greater significance for sub-optimally de-bulked and advanced-stage patients.
The study encompassed 1,528 women with high-risk early or advanced stage epithelial ovarian cancer, primary peritoneal cancer or Fallopian tube cancer. After subjecting the participants for preparatory surgery, experts randomly assigned one of two treatment regimens. First treatment regimen included 6 cycles of carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy given once for every three weeks. On the other hand, second one comprised same chemotherapy along with bevacizumab concurrently and then on its own as a maintenance treatment for up to 12 cycles.
“ICON7 met its primary endpoint and demonstrated that at 12 months the risk of developing further progression of ovarian cancer was reduced by 15 percent when compared to the risk of progression seen with chemotherapy treatment alone. The data concerning survival within ICON7 will not be mature for a further 2 years, but preliminary data do show an encouraging early trend with fewer deaths seen in patients treated with bevacizumab,†enlightened Tim Perren from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, UK.
Varying benefits of bevacizumab appeared which diminished over time. The study findings can possibly aid in ascertaining future treatment options for ovarian cancer patients. Further investigations will be triggered for distinguishing the population who benefits from this treatment.
The study was presented at the 35th Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Milan, Italy.