Bevacizumab in recurrent ovarian cancer

Abstract

Purpose: The cost-effectiveness of bevacizumab has been the subject of debate, and we aimed to present our own retrospective data on its effect on survival in recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer.

Methods: Patients with recurrent ovarian, tubal and primary peritoneal cancer between October 2007 and June 2018 were grouped according to the platinum-free interval. The progression-free and overall survivals of the patients who had received chemotherapy only and chemotherapy with bevacizumab were calculated.

Results: Eighty patients had received chemotherapy (CT) only, and 65 had received CT+BV. In platinum-sensitive recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer (PSREOC) patients, the median progression-free survival (PFS) months was 7 months (95% CI; 5.5-8.4) in the group who had received CT only and 13 months (95% CI; 5.8-20.1) in the group who had received CT+BV (p=0.001) and for CT+BV HR (Hazard Ratio):0.39 (95% CI; 0.24-0.64) (p=0.001). The median PFS of platinum-resistant recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer (PRREOC) patients who had received CT only was determined as 2 (95% CI; 1.4-2.5) and as 10 (95% CI; 6.8-13.1) months for patients who had received CT+BV (p=0.001), for patients who had received CT+BV HR: 0.31 (95% CI; 0.17-0.58) (p=0.001). In both PSREOC and PRREOC patients, there was no difference between CT + BV and CT group in terms of overall survival (p=0.978 and p=0.738, respectively).

Conclusion: A significant effect of bevacizumab on the progression-free survival of both platinum-sensitive and platinum resistant recurrent ovarian cancers has been demonstrated; however, this effect failed to impact overall survival. Therefore, it could be recommended to use bevacizumab, considering the cost-effectiveness in undeveloped and developing countries.