Open AccessEfficacy and Safety of Bevacizumab in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: Pooled Analysis From Seven Randomized Controlled Trials
Author(s) -
Hurwitz Herbert I.,
Tebbutt Niall C.,
Kabbinavar Fairooz,
Giantonio Bruce J.,
Guan ZhongZhen,
Mitchell Lada,
Waterkamp Daniel,
Tabernero Josep
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the oncologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.176
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1549-490X
pISSN - 1083-7159
DOI - 10.1634/theoncologist.2013-0107
Subject(s) - medicine , bevacizumab , irinotecan , hazard ratio , oxaliplatin , colorectal cancer , oncology , population , chemotherapy , randomized controlled trial , placebo , cancer , surgery , confidence interval , pathology , alternative medicine , environmental health
Purpose. This analysis pooled individual patient data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to more thoroughly examine clinical outcomes when adding bevacizumab to chemotherapy for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Patients and Methods. Patient data were pooled from the first‐line AVF2107, NO16966, ARTIST, AVF0780, AVF2192, and AGITG MAX RCTs and the second‐line E3200 RCT. All analyses were based on the intent‐to‐treat population. To assess differences in time‐to‐event variables by treatment (chemotherapy with or without placebo vs. chemotherapy plus bevacizumab), stratified random‐effects (overall) and fixed‐effects (subgroup comparisons) models were used to estimate pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results. The analysis population comprised 3,763 patients (1,773 chemotherapy with or without placebo; 1,990 chemotherapy plus bevacizumab). The addition of bevacizumab to chemotherapy was associated with statistically significant increases in overall survival (OS; HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.71–0.90) and progression‐free survival (PFS; HR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.46–0.71). The effects on OS and PFS across subgroups defined by chemotherapy backbone (oxaliplatin‐based, irinotecan‐based), extent of disease (liver metastases only, extensive disease), age (<65, ≥65 years), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (0, ≥1), and KRAS status (wild‐type, mutant) were consistent with the overall analysis. Incidence rates of grade ≥3 hypertension, proteinuria, bleeding, wound‐healing complications, gastrointestinal perforations, and thromboembolic events were increased with bevacizumab treatment. Conclusion. The use of bevacizumab with chemotherapy resulted in statistically significant increases in OS and PFS for patients with mCRC. The PFS benefit extended across the clinically relevant subgroups examined. The observed safety profile of bevacizumab was consistent with that reported in individual trials.