New study on bowel cancer treatment

The results of a clinical trial assessing two new treatment alternatives for bowel cancer patients unable to withstand chemotherapy were published today in the prestigious medical journal, the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The standard alternative to chemotherapy is treatment with capecitabine (Xeloda) tablets. However a group of Australian oncologists has shown that regimens combining capecitabine with bevacuzimab (Avastin) or bevacizumab plus mitomycin C, can extend disease-free survival, without major additional side-effects or reduced quality of life.

Stemming from a collaboration between the Australasian Gastro-Intestinal Trials Group (AGITG) and the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre (CTC), the trial, known as the Max study, enrolled 471 bowel cancer patients in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, who were monitored for 31 months. The study found that adding bevacizumab to oral chemotherapy with capecitabine increased the time to progression by nearly 3 months.

Further analysis of the trial data continues with a focus on the likely cost of these treatments in the Australian health setting, genetic studies of tumour tissue, as well as further assessments of patients’ emotional outlook and quality of life.

The study was carried out by the AGITG, which has an academic network of over 750 clinicians, with funding coming in the form of an untied educational grant from Roche Products.