According to Carmen Joseph Allegra, MD and colleagues of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla., a potentially promising treatment regimen for metastatic colorectal cancer is safe for patients who have previously received bevacizumab therapy, also known as Avastin.
The Florida researchers are presenting their findings at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting in Chicago.
The findings come from the placebo-controlled, phase III VELOUR trial of aflibercept (Zaltrap) along with FOLFIRI combination chemotherapy. The VELOUR trial involved 1,226 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, 373 of whom had a history of Avastin treatment.
Researchers sought to determine whether the Avastin history would have any effect among that specified subgroup. What they found was that median overall survival time with the combination was slightly shorter in patients with a history of Avastin compared to those that didn't (12.5 months versus 13.9 months).
Additionally, aflibercept plus FOLFIRI seems to prolong progression-free survival whether the patient had a history of Avastin or not. On top of that, the safety and adverse effect profile was the same, regardless of any Avastin history.
Aflibercept targets vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) like Avastin does, but unlike Avastin, aflibercept is a "synthetic fusion protein that acts as a decoy receptor for VEGF." In doing so it does not allow proteins and placental growth factor from triggering angiogenic signalling and vascular development in the tumor.
Source: Medpage Today
The information provided on CancerTreatment.net is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her health professional. This information is solely for informational purposes and does not constitute the practice of medicine. We encourage all visitors to see a licensed physician or nutritionist if they have any concerns regarding health issues related to diet, personal image and any other topics discussed on this site. Neither the owners or employees of CancerTreatment.net nor the author(s) of site content take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading this site. Always speak with your primary health care provider before engaging in any form of self treatment. Please see our Legal Statement for further information.
