Avastin® Inhibits VEGF

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Newly Approved Colorectal Cancer Drug Now in Clinical Trial for Mesothelioma Patients

Avastin®:

  • » Used as colorectal cancer drug
  • » May have role in mesothelioma treatment
  • » Now being tested in pleural mesothelioma clinical trials

March 26, 2004 — A clinical trial is now underway to test the effects of the drug Avastin® (bevacizumab) on mesothelioma patients. Recently approved for the treatment of colorectal cancer, Avastin® works by inhibiting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a substance believed to promote the growth of new blood vessels needed for tumors to develop.

Cells of mesothelioma victims and other cancer patients contain high levels of VEGF (see Int J Cancer 2003 May 1; 104(5): 603–10 and Growth Factors in Mesothelioma Cell Lines). Researchers hope that Avastin® will disable VEGF in mesothelioma patients, thereby halting angiogenesis, which is the clinical term for tumor blood vessel development.

The mesothelioma study is headed by Dr. Hedy Kindler of the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center. Other study sites include University of California Davis Cancer Center, Loyola University Medical Center, Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center in New York, and Abramson Cancer Center at University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. For a complete list, see the National Cancer Institute clinical trial database.

One group of study patients will receive Avastin® as well as the more standard chemotherapy agents cisplatin and gemcitabine. Another group will receive only cisplatin and gemcitabine. The researchers will compare the response rates of these two groups, and check for drug side effects.

To be eligible for the Avastin® clinical trial, mesothelioma patients must not be good candidates for extrapleural pneumonectomies and other cancer surgeries. An extrapleural pneumonectomy is a procedure that removes portions of the lung, the lining of the lung, the lining of the heart, and the diaphragm. It has a good record of removing cancer cells and prolonging life. However, this radical surgery is not recommended for all mesothelioma patients, only for those whose heart and lungs function well enough to withstand its rigors.

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