Now, a new study found that bevacizumab may have the potential to improve the efficacy of standard combination chemotherapy in ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer or cancer of the ovary is the fifth most common cancer in women and I reckon one of the deadliest.

Almost 70% of ovarian cancer patients fail to win against the disease despite chemotherapy.

According to Dr. Bram Goldstein, co-author of the study, whose findings are published in Vol. 17 Issue 4 of International Journal of Gynecological Cancer:

“The results from our research suggest that the combination of Bevacizumab and standard therapy for the treatment of ovarian cancer may be promising, particularly with regard to safety and efficacy.”

Bevacizumab is commercially sold as Avastin® – a product of Genentech.

More details from Science Daily.

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Bevacizumab Improves Ovarian Cancer Treatment

The bevacizumab-chemotherapy combination has been found to survival in patients with metastatic colorectal and non–small-cell lung cancer, though previous studies have suggested that patients on this combo treatment are at an increased for arterial blood clots.

But now, treatment with chemotherapy and bavacizumab has been found to be associated with a greater risk of blood clots in patients’ arteries compared to treatment with bevacizumab alone.

As published online on August 7 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute:

Among patients treated with the combination therapy, 3.8 percent experienced blood clots in their arteries, compared with 1.7 percent of patients on chemotherapy alone.

There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of blood clots in veins.

Risk factors for blood clots in both arteries and veins included previous blood clots and older age (65 or older.)

Source: EurekAlert

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Chemotherapy-Bevacizumab Combo Treatment Increases Risk of Arterial Blood Clots

Such is the finding of a Duke University Medical Center pilot study in which the researchers tested the effectiveness of Avastin in conjunction with a standard chemotherapy agent in patients with recurrent cancerous brain tumors called gliomas.

…found that the two drugs together halted tumor growth up to twice as long as comparative therapies.

Though gliomas remain incurable in nearly all cases, the combined drug therapy may buy precious time and preserve physical and mental function longer for patients facing this grim diagnosis.

Avastin, a product of Genentech, is new type of drug that shrinks cancerous tumors by cutting off their blood supply.

Find more details from the full report.

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Lung and Colorectal Cancers Drug Avastin: Found to Extend Survival in Patients with Deadly Gliomas