Avastin aids complete resection of mCRC lesions

Swiss drug major Roche says that new data from the large international First BEAT trial unveiled at the annual European Cancer Conference, in Barlceona, Spain, demonstrate that a high number of patients treated with Avastin (bevacizumab) plus standard chemotherapy for their colorectal cancer underwent complete surgical removal of their metastatic lesions. Complete removal of metastatic lesions was achieved in almost 80% of these patients, all of whom had been considered inoperable prior to the start of treatment. This outcome with Avastin is higher than has been previously seen in trials with other biologics/chemotherapy combinations, noted the firm.

"The complete resection of metastatic lesions is the only option for cure in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Therefore these results represent a major step forward for the patient," said Mondher Mahjoubi, global head medical affairs oncology, Roche. "The high rates of successful, curative surgery achieved with Avastin plus standard chemotherapy are impressive, especially because First BEAT is a trial looking at a general, real-life patient population," he added.

First BEAT results presented at the ECCO demonstrated that 11.5% of all patients included in the current data analysis (1,914) became eligible for and underwent surgery with curative intent during the course of treatment. Successful, complete removal of the metastatic lesions was achieved in 170 patients, a success rate of 79%. The best outcomes, as expected, were achieved in the subgroup with metastatic disease confined to the liver only (n=704). In this cohort, 102 patients (14.5%) underwent surgical removal of their liver metastases in curative intent with successful complete resection achieved by 81 of them.