Dr. Arnold on Second-Line Avastin Continuation for mCRC

Dirk Arnold, MD, director of the University Cancer Center Hamburg at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, in Germany, discusses results of a phase III randomized trial that continued bevacizumab (Avastin) plus standard chemotherapy into the second-line for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

The trial enrolled 820 patients with mCRC who had progressed after receiving bevacizumab plus an oxaliplatin- or irinotecan-based chemotherapy. For a second-line therapy, patients on the trial were randomized to continue bevacizumab in combination with the opposite chemotherapy or chemotherapy alone.

The trial found a median overall survival of 11.2 months for the combination arm compared to 9.8 months for those receiving chemotherapy alone (HR = 0.81). Additionally, Arnold notes the continuation of bevacizumab did not result in additional toxicity.