Two recent clinical trials for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) demonstrated intriguing results for maintenance strategies with bevacizumab and pemetrexed.

The first, PointBreak, was a phase III randomized study looking at pemetrexed plus carboplatin and bevacizumab followed by maintenance pemetrexed and bevacizumab versus paclitaxel plus carboplatin and bevacizumab followed by maintenance bevacizumab in patients with stage IIIB or IV non-squamous NSCLC. The second study, AVAPERL, was a phase III study that looked at bevacizumab with or without pemetrexed after first-line induction with bevacizumab, cisplatin, and pemetrexed in advanced non-squamous NSCLC.

In the discussion, panelists discuss the findings from the AVAPERL and PointBreak studies. Additionally, they express optimism that ECOG-5508 will answer the lingering questions left by these studies. The phase III E5508 study is looking at maintenance therapy with bevacizumab, pemetrexed, or a combination of bevacizumab and pemetrexed following carboplatin, paclitaxel, and bevacizumab for advanced nonsquamous NSCLC.

View the video, to learn more!