A combination of treatments now offers new hope for women with ovarian cancer. This cancer is the eighth leading cause of death among women and is often difficult to diagnose because symptoms appear late.
Dr. Robert Burger and his colleagues at Fox Chace Cancer Center in Philadelphia have found that Avastin combined with chemotherapy can slow the progression of tumours.
Avastin is already known as a treatment of metastatic cancers of the colon, breast, kidney, brain and lungs.
Dr. Burger comments: "This is the first molecular-targeted and first anti-angiogenesis therapy to demonstrate benefit in this population and, combined with chemotherapy followed by [Avastin] maintenance, should be considered as one standard option for women with this disease."
There were three groups. One group received chemotherapy and a placebo and a second group had chemotherapy and Avastin. The third group received the same as the second, but got a follow up of Avastin for 10 additional months.
The last group lived just over 14 months without their disease progressing compared to women who had only had chemotherapy. They lived up to 10 months without it progressing.