Efficacy and safety of bevacizumab in Turkish patients with metastatic and recurrent cervical cancer

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of bevacizumab a monoclonal, antivascular endothelial growth factor antibody in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy in Turkish patients with recurrent and metastatic cervical cancer. Materials and Methods Data of 64 patients with metastatic or recurrent cervical cancer, receiving bevacizumab with first-line cisplatin or carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy between 2013 and 2017 were retrospectively evaluated. Results The mean age of the patients was 49 years (range, 28-68), the median follow-up time was 12 months (range, 2-53), the median progression-free survival (PFS) was eight months, and the median overall survival (OS) was 23 months. All 64 patients received a median of 6 (range, 1-12) bevacizumab and 6 (range, 2-12) chemotherapy cycles. The chemotherapy regimens used with bevacizumab were cisplatin and paclitaxel in 31 (48%) and carboplatin and paclitaxel in 33 (52%) patients. The survival in patients treated with bevacizumab and cisplatin plus paclitaxel was better-particularly in patients with no previous cisplatin-based radiosensitizer therapy-than those treated with carboplatin, paclitaxel, and bevacizumab (p=0.023). The bevacizumab dose was 7.5 mg/kg in 30 patients (47%) and 15 mg/kg in 34 patients (53%) every 21 days. No significant difference was reported in the OS and the PFS between the two groups. While the most common all-grades adverse events were nausea, neutropenia, anemia, and peripheral sensory neuropathy, the most common grade ≥3 adverse events were neutropenia, anemia, and peripheral sensory neuropathy. Conclusion Adding bevacizumab to platinum and paclitaxel chemotherapy in a case of metastatic or recurrent cervical cancer is an effective and tolerable treatment for Turkish patients.