In spite of the use of radiation combined with conventional chemotherapy, the long-term survival prognosis for most patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer is disappointing. Much effort is currently focussed on exploring new molecular targeted agents that may improve upon survival. The addition of an agent that targets blood vessel formation in tumors, bevacizumab or Avastin, to conventional chemotherapy has been shown to improve survival in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Data from animal studies have shown that bevacizumab and related agents also increase tumor cure rates when administered both during and after radiotherapy. This suggests that combined bevacizumab and chemo-radiation may improve survival in local-advanced disease as well. Before such clinical studies can commence, the safety and normal tissue toxicity profile of bevacizumab with thoracic radiotherapy must first be established. In this study, escalating doses of bevacizumab will be administered during radiotherapy, followed by maintenance bevacizumab.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
6
Intravenous bevacizumab at 7.5mg/kg and 15mg/kg concurrently with thoracic radiotherapy in sequential cohorts. In the final dose level, bevacizumab 15mg/kg concurrent with radiation will be followed by maintenance bevacizumab 15mg/kg up to a maximum of 6 cycles
VU University Medical Center
Amsterdam, Netherlands
To establish the safety and tolerability of 2 dose-levels of bevacizumab administered every 3 weeks with concurrent thoracic radiotherapy to 66 Gy,and also maintenance (15 mg/kg) bevacizumab following completion of thoracic radiotherapy
Time frame: 1 year
Correlate all observed toxicity with dose-volume histograms of irradiated normal organs and explore surrogate tumor end-points that may correlate with the efficacy of combined treatment with anti-VEGF targeted therapy
Time frame: 1 year
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