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People with the most common type of lung cancer have a new treatment option today with the government's approval of bevacizumab (Avastin) when given along with the standard chemotherapy drugs carboplatin and paclitaxel.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the new drug combination for the first-line treatment of patients with non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), whose disease is inoperable, locally advanced, recurrent, or metastatic (it has spread past the original site).
The approval is based on a large clinical trial which found that patients given Avastin plus chemotherapy had a median survival of 12.5 months, compared with 10.2 months for the group given standard chemotherapy drugs.
Len Lichtenfeld, MD, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, said, "We have been somewhat stalled in new options and new advances with this disease. That makes even the modest improvement in survival provided by Avastin important," he added.
"It is also important to note that for other diseases and other forms of cancer, big changes often start with small steps," he added. "Eventually, these modest improvements, building upon one another, can result in significant increases in survival in patients with metastatic disease."
The most serious side effects associated with Avastin, including some that were fatal, were bowel perforation, wound healing complications, internal bleeding, blockage of the arteries, abnormally high blood pressure, low blood protein levels, and congestive heart failure.
The most common side effects in patients receiving Avastin included weakness, abdominal pain, headache, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.
Avastin was first approved in February 2004 for treatment of patients with metastatic cancer of the colon or rectum, in combination with chemotherapy.
The maker of Avastin, Genentech, Inc., estimates that the typical monthly cost at the higher doses recommended for lung cancer will be approximately $8,800. The company announced it will begin an "expenditure cap" program for Avastin in January 2007. A press release also said patients may find financial help through charities that provide co-pay assistance and through it's Genentech Access to Care Foundation, which provides the drug free for certain eligible people who have no health insurance.
Non-small cell lung cancer accounts for 75 percent of the 174,400 new cases of lung cancer that are expected to be diagnosed this year. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in both men and women.
