This is great news.
A recent small-scale clinical trial has indicated that a combination of two drugs could improve survival rates for individuals with advanced kidney cancer. Conducted by researchers at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York, the trial tested a new treatment regimen that pairs pazopanib (Votrient) with bevacizumab (Avastin).
Pazopanib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that targets vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling, a crucial process for tumor growth. Previous studies on pazopanib, which led to its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, showed that it provided an average progression-free survival of just over 11 months for patients with kidney tumors.
In the new trial involving 51 participants, combining pazopanib with bevacizumab resulted in a notable increase in progression-free survival, extending it to over 23 months on average. The treatment involved 10-week cycles, where patients initially received pazopanib for the first 28 days. Bevacizumab was then administered from days 36 to 50 of the cycle. This approach aims to enhance the effectiveness of pazopanib by neutralizing VEGF, potentially overcoming resistance to the TKI.
Dr. Saby George, who led the study, highlighted that while some patients with advanced kidney cancer might benefit from potent immunotherapy options, the pazopanib/bevacizumab combination could be a safer alternative. The combination therapy showed “superior safety compared to immunotherapy combinations,” according to the researchers.
The results were shared at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Barcelona, Spain. It is important to note that these findings are preliminary and await validation through publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
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