Addition of an antiangiogenic therapy, bevacizumab, to gemcitabine plus oxaliplatin improves survival in advanced biliary tract cancers

Background The prognosis of patients with metastatic carcinoma of the biliary tract (mBTC) is poor and a systemic therapy with gemcitabine and platinum-based is the gold standard. The addition of bevacizumab to the chemotherapy might increase patients' survival. Our aim was to assess and compare the efficacy of GEMOX (gemcitabine and oxaliplatin regimen) plus bevacizumab to GEMOX alone in mBTC. Methods Patients with mBTC who received the GEMOX-bevacizumab (n = 32; Group A) or GEMOX (n = 25; Group B) regimen as first-line treatment were compared. Treatment was repeated every two weeks until disease progression or unacceptable adverse effects occurred. The primary evaluation criterion was the progression-free survival (PFS). Results A quarter of patients (8/32) from Group A and a fifth of patients (13/25) from Group B had an objective response. The median PFS was 6.48 months and 3.72 months in Group A and B, respectively (p = 0.049). The median OS was 11.31 months and 10.34 months in Group A and B, respectively. Grade 3/4 sepsis was identified in 9.4% and 12% in Group A and B, respectively, (p = 0.64). Conclusion In mBTC, the addition of bevacizumab to GEMOX increased the progression-free survival and was associated with manageable toxicity. These data pave the way for further evaluation of antiangiogenic agents in mBTC.