14 DAY TRIAL // A third study has determined that the drug Avastin is indeed effective at preventing ovarian cancer from worsening, in women who are already in the advanced stages of the disease. According to investigators, it would appear that taking this chemical delays the cancer's advance by an average of 4 months.
In the research, ovarian cancer patients were divided into two groups. Women in one group were administered Avastin in addition to chemotherapy, whereas those in the second group received chemotherapy and a placebo.
Researchers noticed that the disease took about 14 months to advance to a new stage in women who were part of the first group. Those in the second group displayed the symptoms in about 10 months.
The first conclusions derived from this trial were presented as early as June 2010, during a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Full details about the work were published in the December 28 issue of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.
Dr. Carol Aghajanian says that this was the third clinical trial in a row to demonstrate the effectiveness of Avastin in delaying the development of ovarian cancer. The expert is the chief of the gynecologic medical oncology service at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, in New York City.
Aghajanian, who was not a part of the current investigation, says that “this is good news for women with ovarian cancer.” She adds that the European Commission has already approved the chemical for ovarian cancer treatment in Europe.
However, it is currently unclear whether the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will do the same for the United States. The federal agency is bound to begin a review of the study data as soon as possible.
Avastin works by stopping the growth of blood vessels the tumor forms in order to feed itself. In a very literal sense, the tumors starve for blood for prolonged periods of time, which makes it impossible for them to grow in any significant manner.
The chemical – which is developed by pharmaceutical company Genentech – is already in use for treating certain types of colon, lung, kidney and brain cancers. The new study, carried out on 1,873 ovarian cancer patients, should convince the FDA that it can approve its use for ovarian cancer cases as well, LiveScience reports.
One of the side-effects the research uncovered was that people who took Avastin were twice more likely to develop gastrointestinal perforations than those in the placebo group. Still, less than 3 percent of women developed the condition.