Bevacizumab in non-small-cell lung cancer: a review

Current targeted strategies for cancer focus on the blockade of growth factor receptors and the inhibition of angiogenesis. The VEGF pathway has become an attractive target in multiple malignancies, including lung cancer. Bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody against VEGF, increased survival in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients when added to standard carboplatin/paclitaxel chemotherapy. The pivotal Phase Ill study (ECOG 4599) in NSCLC showed longer overall survival: 12.3 versus 10.3 months and a higher median progression-free survival of 6.2 versus 4.5 months when chemotherapy was associated with bevacizumab. Benefits were confirmed in terms of progression-free survival in the European Phase III study (AVAiL). Subsequently, bevacizumab gained US FDA and European Medicines Agengy approval as a first-line therapy for advanced NSCLC. Bevacizumab's safety profile is well established: most adverse events are mild to moderate and can be managed using standard interventions. This article presents an overview of the current data on bevacizumab for NSCLC.