The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 276 No 7394 p374
1 April 2006

This article
Reprint   Photocopy

  Acrobat Reader

News summary

Bevacizumab/paclitaxel benefit in breast cancer

Survival without breast cancer progression has been shown to be prolonged in patients given bevacizumab (Avastin) with paclitaxel compared with those given paclitaxel alone, according to data presented last week at a European breast cancer conference in Nice.

In an interim analysis of a phase III trial, the authors found that patients on the combination treatment had improved progression-free survival (11.40 versus 6.11 months; hazard ratio 0.51; P<0.0001) and response rate (29.9 versus 13.8 per cent; P<0.0001). The authors say that the combination was associated with an increase in adverse effects (for example, hypertension and proteinuria), but that the treatment was generally well tolerated.