Avastin(R) Demonstrates Impressive Survival Benefit in Lung

dadstimeon · May 14, 2005

Avastin® Demonstrates Impressive Survival Benefit in Lung Cancer Study

Basel, Switzerland (ots/PRNewswire) -

- Addition of Avastin Boosts Efficacy of First-Line Chemotherapy

for Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

A new study, presented for the first time today, reveals that

Avastin® (bevacizumab rhuMAb-VEGF) significantly extends survival

for patients with previously untreated, advanced non-small cell lung

cancer (NSCLC), the most common form of lung cancer.(1) The data were

presented at the 2005 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)

Annual Meeting, Orlando, USA.

The addition of Avastin to platinum-based chemotherapy (paclitaxel

and carboplatin) significantly improved overall survival by 30%. The

median survival was 12.5 months with Avastin compared to 10.2 months

in patients treated with the standard chemotherapy alone. The study

also demonstrated a 61% improvement in progression-free survival. The

median progression-free survival was 6.4 months with Avastin compared

to 4.5 months for those treated with chemotherapy alone. There was

also a significant increase in response rates in the Avastin group

(27% versus 10%) compared to those receiving chemotherapy alone.(1)

This is the first study in years to show an increase in survival for

the first-line treatment of patients with advanced NSCLC.

"The significance of Avastin being able to prolong the life of

patients with advanced, non-squamous NSCLC is truly groundbreaking,

as we have not seen this with any other targeted therapy in the

first-line setting," said Dr Sandler, lead investigator, Vanderbilt

University Medical Centre, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. "The addition

of Avastin to platinum-based chemotherapy may well become the new

standard of care for patients with non-squamous NSCLC."

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