Bevacizumab

Bevacizumab, sold under the trade name Avastin, is a medication used to treat a number of types of cancers and a specific eye disease. For cancer it is given by slow injection into a vein and used for colon cancer, lung cancer, glioblastoma, and renal-cell carcinoma. For age-related macular degeneration it is given by injection into the eye.RET inhibitors: Vandetanib (also VEGFR and EGFR). Entrectinib (ALK, ROS1, NTRK).c-MET inhibitor: Cabozantinib (also VEGFR2). Bevacizumab, sold under the trade name Avastin, is a medication used to treat a number of types of cancers and a specific eye disease. For cancer it is given by slow injection into a vein and used for colon cancer, lung cancer, glioblastoma, and renal-cell carcinoma. For age-related macular degeneration it is given by injection into the eye. Common side effects when used for cancer include nose bleeds, headache, high blood pressure, and rash. Other severe side effects include gastrointestinal perforation, bleeding, allergic reactions, blood clots, and an increased risk of infection. When used for eye disease side effects can include vision loss and retinal detachment. Bevacizumab is in the angiogenesis inhibitor and monoclonal antibody families of medication. It works by slowing the growth of new blood vessels by inhibiting vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A). Bevacizumab was approved for medical use in the United States in 2004. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most effective and safe medicines needed in a health system. It is listed for its use in treating eye disease. The wholesale cost in the developing world is about US$638.54 per vial. This dose in the United Kingdom cost the NHS about £242.66 in 2015. Bevacizumab was approved by the FDA in February 2004 for use in metastatic colorectal cancer when used with standard chemotherapy treatment (as first-line treatment) and with 5-fluorouracil-based therapy for second-line metastatic colorectal cancer. It was approved by the EMA in January 2005 for use in colorectal cancer. Bevacizumab has also been examined as an add on to other chemotherapy drugs in people with non-metastatic colon cancer. The data from two large randomized studies showed no benefit in preventing the cancer from returning and a potential to cause harm in this setting. In 2006, the FDA approved bevacizumab for use in first-line advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer in combination with carboplatin/paclitaxel chemotherapy. The approval was based on the pivotal study E4599 (conducted by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group), which demonstrated a two-month improvement in overall survival in patients treated with bevacizumab (Sandler, et al. NEJM 2004). A preplanned analysis of histology in E4599 demonstrated a four-month median survival benefit with bevacizumab for people with adenocarcinoma (Sandler, et al. JTO 2010); adenocarcinoma represents approximately 85% of all non-squamous cell carcinomas of the lung.