Treatment Information

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Breast Cancer treatment details. Chemotherapy.

Mount Vernon Hospital, Middlesex, United Kingdom.

Survival: monthsCountry:United Kingdom
Toxiciy Grade:5City/State/Province:Middlesex
Treatments:ChemotherapyHospital:Mount Vernon Hospital
Drugs:Journal:Link
Date:Jul 2010

Description:

Patients:
This study involved female patients with locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer. Patients were divided into 3 separate treatment groups. Group A consisted of 241 patients with a median age of 55 years. There were 248 patients in group B, with a median age of 54 years. Group C had 247 patients with a median age of 55 years.

Treatment:
Patients in group A were treated with the chemotherapy agent docetaxel and a placebo. Group B was treated with a combination of docetaxel and the biologic therapy agent bevacizumab, which is an antibody that blocks a protein involved in cancer cell growth. Group C was treated with docetaxel and bevacizumab at twice the dose as that for group B.

Toxicities:
Treatment-related deaths (toxicity grade 5) were reported for all treatment groups. Causes of death included thromboembolism (blood clot), febrile neutropenia, and diarrhea.

Results:
For group A, the median progression-free survival was 8.2 months and the median overall survival was 31.9 months. For group B, the median progression-free survival was 9.0 months and the median overall survival was 30.8 months. For group C, the median progression-free survival was 10.0 months and the median overall survival was 30.2 months.

Support:
This study was funded by Roche, the makers of bevacizumab (also known as Avastin).

Correspondence: Dr. David W. Miles; email: [email protected]



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