Avastin, when administered in isolation or combination, can significantly improve response rates, survival rates, and progression-free survival times in patients suffering from recurrent glioblastoma, which is a deadly form of brain cancer.

It was remarked by Dr. Timothy Cloughesy, director of the Neuro-Oncology Program at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and senior author of the study, that Avastin alone and Avastin given with CPT-11 can considerably enhance the response rate and overall survival of patients to a considerable extent.

From News-Medical.Net:

The two-armed study enrolled 167 patients with recurrent glioblastoma. One arm evaluated Avastin used as a single agent, the other Avastin given with CPT-11. An independent radiological facility was used to measure tumor responses, Cloughesy said.

In the Avastin only arm, 28.2 percent of patients responded to the treatment, meaning their tumors shrunk by 50 percent or more, a significant increase from the historic 5 percent response rates. Of the 80 patients, 42.6 percent surpassed the six month mark without their disease progressing, up from the historic 15 to 20 percent of patients. Survival was 9.2 months, a slight increase of the typical six to seven month survival time.

In the arm studying Avastin with CPT-11, 37.8 percent of patients responded to the treatment, while 50.3 percent surpassed the six month progression-free survival mark. Overall survival was 8.7 months, a little less than the Avastin only study.

It was remarked by Cloughesy that the study findings can provide a breakthrough for curing patients with recurrent glioblastoma as Avastin is able to provide great relief by reducing the level of brain swelling and even minimizing the dosages of steroids ensuring marked improvement in function.