Roche, the Swiss drugmaker and a partner with Genentech on the blockbuster cancer treatment, said that its Phase III trial data showed ‘Avastin’, in combination with ‘gemcitabine-cisplatin’ chemotherapy, could improve the time cancer patients can live without the disease progressing, thereby indicating a positive trend to ‘extended’ survival. The details of this study were presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology in Stockholm.

In other words, the study hinted that the aforesaid combination of drugs can extend the time cancer patients can survive without lung cancer progression. The ‘Avail’ trial found that when Avastin was given in combination with other drugs, patients who had ‘non-small cell lung cancer’ (NSCLC) at an advanced stage, lived 30 percent longer without disease progression.

The lead investigator, Christian Manegold, of Heidelberg University in Mannheim, Germany, said, “Avail confirms for the second time that Avastin provides important clinical benefits and the longest survival reported for patients with advanced non-squamous NSCLC.” 

However, drug maker Roche, also admitted that the study was not powered to reveal an overall survival benefit. In fact, as far as statistics are concerned, there was no noteworthy difference in survival rates, between patients who received Avastin and those who did not.

Nevertheless, some encouraging signs cannot be overlooked. All treatment groups in the study demonstrated a median overall survival of more than 13 months. There was a definite improvement of survival in ‘Avastin’ patients, vis-à-vis those receiving chemotherapy alone – that is, 8.7 months and 7.3 months respectively.

Avastin is approved in different countries as a treatment for colorectal, lung, breast and kidney cancer. It works by directly restraining vascular endothelial growth factor, which is the key mediator of the growth of new blood vessels.