Avastin study in ovarian cancer meets primary endpoint
pharmafile | February 25, 2010 | News story | Research and Development | Cancer, avastin, ovarian
Preliminary results from a trial of Roche’s Avastin in advanced ovarian cancer suggest that the drug lengthens progression-free survival when added onto initial chemotherapy and then given as a maintenance treatment.
Roche said the trial, known as GOG 0218, marks the first time that a therapy designed to block the development of blood vessels in tumours has shown a benefit in advanced ovarian cancer, a disease which desperately needs new and more effective treatment options.
Pascal Soriot, chief operating officer of Roche’s Pharmaceutical Division, said the results “could offer women with advanced ovarian cancer more time without their disease worsening”, noting that ovarian cancer patients “still have a poor outlook”.
GOG 0218 enrolled 1,873 women with previously-untreated advanced ovarian cancer and included a treatment and maintenance phase with a combined duration of up to 15 months.
There were three treatment arms: placebo plus chemotherapy (paclitaxel and carboplatin) followed by placebo maintenance; Avastin (bevacizumab) plus chemotherapy followed by placebo maintenance; and Avastin plus chemotherapy followed by Avastin maintenance.
Roche did not provide any top-line figures from the study, but said that patients receiving Avastin as a treatment and maintenance lived longer without the disease worsening compared to those who received chemotherapy alone.
Women who received Avastin during the treatment phase, but who then switched to placebo during the maintenance phase, did no better than those on chemotherapy alone.
The positive news for Avastin comes two days after another phase III trial – this time in advanced stomach cancer – failed to improve survival when Avastin was given on top of chemotherapy.
Both studies are due to be presented more fully at June’s American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting.
Avastin is already approved for use in breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, kidney cancer and glioblastoma (a type of brain tumour) and was the company’s biggest-selling product last year, bringing in CHF 6.22 billion ($5.73bn), a 21% increase year-on-year.
Roche is also carrying out phase III studies of Avastin in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, hormone-refractory prostate cancer, and various follow-on indications in breast cancer, NSCLC, glioblastoma and ovarian cancer.
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