BACKGROUND: Avastin and Roferon in Renal Cell Carcinoma (AVOREN) demonstrated efficacy for bevacizumab plus interferon-α2a (IFN; 9 MIU tiw) in first-line metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).
We evaluated bevacizumab with low-dose IFN in mRCC to determine whether clinical benefit could be maintained with reduced toxicity.
METHODS: BEVLiN was an open-label, single-arm, multinational, phase II trial. Nephrectomized patients with treatment-naive, clear cell mRCC and favourable/intermediate Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center scores received bevacizumab (10 mg/kg every 2 weeks) and IFN (3 MIU thrice weekly) until disease progression. Descriptive comparisons with AVOREN patients having favourable/intermediate MSKCC scores treated with bevacizumab plus IFN (9 MIU) were made. Primary end points were grade ≥3 IFN-associated adverse events (AEs) and progression-free survival (PFS). All grade ≥3 AEs and bevacizumab/IFN-related grade 1-2 AEs occurring from first administration until 28 days after last treatment were reported.
RESULTS: A total of 146 patients were treated; the median follow-up was 29.4 months. Any-grade and grade ≥3 IFN-associated AEs occurred in 53.4% and 10.3% of patients, respectively. The median PFS and overall survival were 15.3 [95% confidence interval (CI): 11.7-18.0] and 30.7 months (95% CI: 25.7-not reached), respectively. The ORR was 28.8%.
CONCLUSIONS: Compared with a historical control AVOREN subgroup, low-dose IFN with bevacizumab resulted in a reduction in incidence rates of IFN-related AEs, without compromising efficacy [NCT00796757].
Written by:
Melichar B, Bracarda S, Matveev V, Alekseev B, Ivanov S, Zyryanov A, Janciauskiene R, Fernebro E, Mulders P, Osborne S, Jethwa S, Mickisch G, Gore M, van Moorselaar RJ, Staehler M, Magne N, Bellmunt J. Are you the author?
Department of Oncology, Palacký University Medical School and Teaching Hospital, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
Reference: Ann Oncol. 2013 Sep;24(9):2396-402.
doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdt228
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 23803225
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