Avastin (bevacizumab) improves survival, cognitive functions in severe brain cancer patients: Roche

Avastin (bevacizumab), the anti-cancer drug from Roche can improve survival rates in patients with severe glioblastoma or brain cancer.

Avastin (bevacizumab) alone or in combination with irinotecan chemotherapy for the treatment of relapsed or progressive glioblastoma studies showed that increases the chance of patients being alive without worsening of their disease at six months.

Avastin studies in a phase II programme also showed that besides progression free survival, bevacizumab-based therapy may also lead to additional positive impact on patients’ daily lives, Roche reported while presenting the study at  Europe’s largest scientific meeting for cancer specialists, the joint 15th ECCO and 34th ESMO.

Avastin-based therapy’s positive impact on the patient lives came in way of stabilisation or improvement in neurocognitive function and a reduction in their dose of steroids, the analysis of the trial data showed.

“Stabilising neurocognitive function and reducing reliance on steroids can improve day to day life for patients with recurrent glioblastoma which, given the poor prognosis, is a key aim of treatment,” said professor James Vredenburgh, medical director, Adult Clinical Service, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, USA.

Data analysis suggests that Avastin-based therapy which has already demonstrated progression free survival benefits may also have a positive impact on patients’ daily lives.

Ability to think and reason, to make judgements and remember things are the major neurocognitive function.

Glioblastioma causes a steady decline in neurocogntive function. This can be usually very distressing for both patients and their families.

Avastin based treatment also led to lower use of steroids in some patients. Steroids are an important part of managing symptoms in many patients with glioblastoma but they can lead to complications such as weight gain, insomnia and behavioural changes. Reduction in steroid dose means that physicians may be able to reduce the side effects of long term steroid use.

Glioblastoma multiforme patients experience relapse or progression of their disease following initial treatment. When the disease returns, prognosis is particularly poor and improving day to day life for patients is a component of the treatment aim.

Avastin that contains bevacizumab antibody precisely inhibits vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) a key mediator of angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels, which is essential for tumour growth and spread. Glioblastoma has very high VEGF expression. By controlling angiogenesis, Avastin controls tumour growth.

Avastin was granted accelerated approval for the treatment of glioblastoma patients with progressive disease following prior therapy from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2009, based on data from the BRAIN study which was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology) and an NCI study. The data is currently being discussed with regulators in Europe and has led to approvals in Switzerland, Albania, Dominican Republic, India, Moldova and the Ukraine.

Avastin has been approved in Europe for the treatment of the advanced stages of four common types of cancer: colorectal cancer, breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and kidney cancer. These types of cancer collectively cause over 2.5 million deaths each year.

Aavastin received its first approval in 2004 was for combination use with standard chemotherapy for metastatic colon cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. Avastin was approved by the US FDA for use in metastatic breast cancer in 2008.

In the US, Avastin was the first anti-angiogenesis therapy approved by the FDA and it is now approved for the treatment of five tumour types: colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, brain (glioblastoma) and kidney (renal cell carcinoma).

Over half a million patients have been treated with Avastin so far. A comprehensive clinical programme with over 450 clinical trials is investigating the use of Avastin in various tumour types including colorectal, breast, non-small cell lung, brain, gastric, ovarian, prostate and others and different settings advanced or early stage disease.

Avastin registered nearly $2.7 billion in sales in 2008.

Glioma (cancer of the glial cells) is the most common type of malignant primary brain tumour (a tumour that originates in the brain). Gliomas accounts for approximately one third of all cases diagnosed. Glioblastoma or glioblastoma multiforme is the most common and the most aggressive type of glioma. The prognosis for patients with GBM is poor, and generally depends on the success of surgery to remove the tumour.

Glioblastoma affects approximately 13,000 people per year in the EU. Following initial treatment, glioblastoma tumours nearly always return and currently, there are limited treatment options for patients when these relapses occur. According to estimates, less than 10 percent of patients with recurrent glioblastoma respond to treatment and approximately 15 percent will live six months without their disease getting worse.

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is the world’s largest biotech company with medicines in oncology, virology, inflammation, metabolism and CNS. Roche is also the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics, tissue-based cancer diagnostics and a pioneer in diabetes management.

In 2008, Roche invested almost 9 billion Swiss francs in R&D.

Roche group posted sales of 45.6 billion Swiss francs. Genentech, United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche has a majority stake in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan.