NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cancer patients treated with Genentech Inc.'s colon cancer drug bevacizumab (Avastin) along with the chemotherapy regimen FOLFOX4 lived longer than patients treated with the chemotherapy alone in a late-stage clinical trial, the biotech company said on Monday.
Genentech shares rose more than 1% after an interim analysis of the data showed patients taking the combination lived 12.5 months, compared to 10.7 months for those not getting Avastin. These results met the trial's primary goal of improving overall survival, if only slightly.
All patients in the trial had metastatic cancer and had failed previous treatment or had a relapse of the disease.
Genentech said it would use results from this 829-patient study in discussions with U.S. regulators about broadening approved uses for the drug.
"This study provides additional evidence that adding Avastin to chemotherapy results in a significant survival benefit for patients with either untreated or relapsed metastatic colorectal cancer," Hal Barron, Genentech's chief medical officer, said in a statement.
Adverse side effects seen in the study were consistent with other clinical trials in which Avastin was combined with chemotherapy, Genentech said.
Avastin was approved in February as a first-line treatment for colon cancer in combination with 5-FU. It prolonged life of patients by 5 months in those trials.
A preliminary assessment of the safety profile suggested Avastin could be combined safely with FOLFOX4, the company said. |