Avastin Roche

Bevacizumab.

Active ingredient: Bevacizumab (humanised anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody).
Avastin Roche is supplied in 100 mg preservative-free, single-use vials containing 4 mL of Avastin Roche (25 mg/mL).
Each Avastin Roche 100 mg vial contains 100 mg of bevacizumab.

Pharmacotherapeutic Group: Antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents, antineoplastic agents, other antineoplastic agents, monoclonal antibodies. ATC Code: L01X C07.
Pharmacology: Pharmacodynamics: Mechanism of Action: Bevacizumab binds to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the key driver of vasculogenesis and angiogenesis, and thereby inhibits the binding of VEGF to its receptors, Flt-1 (VEGFR-1) and KDR (VEGFR-2), on the surface of endothelial cells. Neutralising the biological activity of VEGF regresses the vascularisation of tumours, normalises remaining tumour vasculature, and inhibits the formation of new tumour vasculature, thereby inhibiting tumour growth.
Pharmacodynamic Effects: Administration of bevacizumab or its parental murine antibody to xenotransplant models of cancer in nude mice resulted in extensive anti-tumour activity in human cancers, including colon, breast, pancreas and prostate. Metastatic disease progression was inhibited and microvascular permeability was reduced.
Clinical Efficacy: Metastatic Carcinoma of the Colon or Rectum (mCRC): The safety and efficacy of the recommended dose (5 mg/kg of body weight every two weeks) in metastatic carcinoma of the colon or rectum were studied in three randomised, active-controlled clinical trials in combination with fluoropyrimidine-based first-line chemotherapy. Avastin Roche was combined with two chemotherapy regimens: AVF2107g: A weekly schedule of irinotecan/bolus 5-fluorouracil/folinic acid (IFL) for a total of 4 weeks of each 6 week-cycle (Saltz regimen).
AVF0780g: In combination with bolus 5-fluorouracil/folinic acid (5-FU/FA) for a total of 6 weeks of each 8 week-cycle (Roswell Park regimen).
AVF2192g: In combination with bolus 5-FU/FA for a total of 6 weeks of each 8 week-cycle (Roswell Park regimen) in patients who were not optimal candidates for first-line irinotecan treatment.
Three additional studies with bevacizumab have been conducted in mCRC patients: first-line (NO16966), second-line with no previous bevacizumab treatment (E3200), and second-line with previous bevacizumab treatment following disease progression in first-line (ML18147). In these studies, bevacizumab was administered at the following dosing regimens in combination with FOLFOX-4 (5-FU/LV/oxaliplatin), XELOX (capecitabine/oxaliplatin), and fluoropyrimidine/irinotecan and fluoropyrimidine/oxaliplatin: NO16966: Avastin Roche 7.5 mg/kg of body weight every 3 weeks in combination with oral capecitabine and intravenous oxaliplatin (XELOX) or Avastin Roche 5 mg/kg every 2 weeks in combination with leucovorin plus 5-fluorouracil bolus, followed by 5-fluorouracil infusion, with intravenous oxaliplatin (FOLFOX-4).
E3200: Avastin Roche 10 mg/kg of body weight every 2 weeks in combination with leucovorin and 5-fluorouracil bolus, followed by 5-fluorouracil infusion, with intravenous oxaliplatin (FOLFOX-4) in bevacizumab-naive patients.
ML18147: Avastin Roche 5.0 mg/kg of body weight every 2 weeks or Avastin Roche 7.5 mg/kg of body weight every 3 weeks in combination with fluoropyrimidine/irinotecan or fluoropyrimidine/oxaliplatin in patients with disease progression following first-line treatment with bevacizumab. Use of irinotecan- or oxaliplatin-containing regimen was switched depending on first-line usage of either oxaliplatin or irinotecan.
AVF2107g: This was a phase III randomised, double-blind, active-controlled clinical trial evaluating Avastin Roche in combination with IFL as first-line treatment for metastatic carcinoma of the colon or rectum. Eight hundred and thirteen patients were randomised to receive IFL + placebo (Arm 1) or IFL+Avastin Roche (5 mg/kg every 2 weeks, Arm 2). A third group of 110 patients received bolus 5-FU/FA+Avastin Roche (Arm 3). Enrolment in Arm 3 was discontinued, as pre-specified, once safety of Avastin Roche with the IFL regimen was established and considered acceptable. All treatments were continued until disease progression. The overall mean age was 59.4 years; 56.6% of patients had an ECOG performance status of 0, 43% had a value of 1 and 0.4% had a value of 2. 15.5% had received prior radiotherapy and 28.4% prior chemotherapy.
The primary efficacy variable of the trial was overall survival. The addition of Avastin Roche to IFL resulted in statistically significant increases in overall survival, progression-free survival and overall response rate (see Table 1). The clinical benefit, as measured by overall survival, was seen in all pre-specified patient subgroups, including those defined by age, sex, performance status, location of primary tumour, number of organs involved and duration of metastatic disease.
The efficacy results of Avastin Roche in combination with IFL-chemotherapy are displayed in Table 1. (See Table 1.)

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Among the 110 patients randomised to Arm 3 (5-FU/FA + Avastin Roche) prior to discontinuation of this arm, the median overall survival was 18.3 months and the median progression free survival was 8.8 months.
AVF2192g: This was a phase II randomised, double-blind, active-controlled clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of Avastin Roche in combination with 5-FU/FA as first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer in patients who were not optimal candidates for first-line irinotecan treatment. One hundred and five patients were randomised to 5-FU/FA + placebo arm and 104 patients to 5-FU/FA+Avastin Roche (5 mg/kg every 2 weeks) arm. All treatments were continued until disease progression. The addition of Avastin Roche 5 mg/kg every two weeks to 5-FU/FA resulted in higher objective response rates, significantly longer progression-free survival, and a trend in longer survival as compared to 5-FU/FA chemotherapy alone.
AVF0780g: This was a phase II randomised, active-controlled, open-labelled clinical trial investigating Avastin Roche in combination with 5-FU/FA as first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. The median age was 64 years. 19% of the patients had received prior chemotherapy and 14% prior radiotherapy. Seventy-one patients were randomised to receive bolus 5-FU/FA or 5-FU/FA + Avastin Roche (5 mg/kg every 2 weeks). A third group of 33 patients received bolus 5-FU/FA + Avastin Roche (10 mg/kg every 2 weeks). Patients were treated until disease progression. The primary endpoints of the trial were objective response rate and progression-free survival. The addition of Avastin Roche 5 mg/kg every two weeks to 5-FU/FA resulted in higher objective response rates, longer progression-free survival, and a trend in longer survival, compared with 5-FU/FA chemotherapy alone (see Table 2). These efficacy data are consistent with the results from trial AVF2107g.
The efficacy data from trials AVF0780g and AVF2192g investigating Avastin Roche in combination with 5-FU/FA-chemotherapy are summarised in Table 2. (See Table 2.)

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NO16966: This was a phase III randomised, double-blind (for bevacizumab), clinical trial investigating Avastin Roche 7.5 mg/kg in combination with oral capecitabine and IV oxaliplatin (XELOX), administered on a 3-weekly schedule; or Avastin Roche 5 mg/kg in combination with leucovorin with 5-fluorouracil bolus, followed by 5-fluorouracil infusional, with IV oxaliplatin (FOLFOX-4), administered on a 2-weekly schedule. The trial contained two parts: an initial unblinded 2-arm part (Part I) in which patients were randomised to two different treatment groups (XELOX and FOLFOX-4) and a subsequent 2 x 2 factorial 4-arm part (Part II) in which patients were randomised to four treatment groups (XELOX + placebo, FOLFOX-4 + placebo, XELOX + Avastin Roche, FOLFOX-4 + Avastin Roche). In Part II, treatment assignment was double-blind with respect to Avastin Roche.
Approximately 350 patients were randomised into each of the 4 trial arms in the Part II of the trial. (See Table 3.)

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The primary efficacy parameter of the trial was the duration of progression-free survival. In this trial, there were two primary objectives: to show that XELOX was non-inferior to FOLFOX-4 and to show that Avastin Roche in combination with FOLFOX-4 or XELOX chemotherapy was superior to chemotherapy alone. Both co-primary objectives were met: Non-inferiority of the XELOX-containing arms compared with the FOLFOX-4-containing arms in the overall comparison was demonstrated in terms of progression-free survival and overall survival in the eligible per-protocol population.
Superiority of the Avastin Roche-containing arms versus the chemotherapy alone arms in the overall comparison was demonstrated in terms of progression-free survival in the ITT population (Table 4).
Secondary PFS analyses, based on 'on-treatment'-based response assessments, confirmed the significantly superior clinical benefit for patients treated with Avastin Roche (analyses shown in Table 4), consistent with the statistically significant benefit observed in the pooled analysis.

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In the FOLFOX treatment subgroup, the median PFS was 8.6 months in placebo and 9.4 months in bevacizumab treated patients, HR = 0.89, 97.5% CI = [0.73; 1.08]; p-value = 0.1871, the corresponding results in the XELOX treatment subgroup being 7.4 vs. 9.3 months, HR = 0.77, 97.5% CI = [0.63; 0.94]; p-value = 0.0026.
The median overall survival was 20.3 months in placebo and 21.2 months in bevacizumab treated patients in the FOLFOX treatment subgroup, HR=0.94, 97.5% CI = [0.75; 1.16]; p-value = 0.4937, the corresponding results in the XELOX, treatment subgroup being 19.2 vs. 21.4 months, HR = 0.84, 97.5% CI = [0.68; 1.04]; p-value = 0.0698.
ECOG E3200: This was a phase III randomised, active-controlled, open-label trial investigating Avastin Roche 10 mg/kg in combination with leucovorin with 5-fluorouracil bolus and then 5-fluorouracil infusional, with IV oxaliplatin (FOLFOX-4), administered on a 2-weekly schedule in previously-treated patients (second line) with advanced colorectal cancer. In the chemotherapy arms, the FOLFOX-4 regimen used the same doses and schedule as shown in Table 3 for trial NO16966.
The primary efficacy parameter of the trial was overall survival, defined as the time from randomisation to death from any cause. Eight hundred and twenty-nine patients were randomised (292 FOLFOX-4, 293 Avastin Roche + FOLFOX-4 and 244 Avastin Roche monotherapy). The addition of Avastin Roche to FOLFOX-4 resulted in a statistically significant prolongation of survival. Statistically significant improvements in progression-free survival and objective response rate were also observed (see Table 5).

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No significant difference was observed in the duration of overall survival between patients who received Avastin Roche monotherapy compared to patients treated with FOLFOX-4. Progression-free survival and objective response rate were inferior in the Avastin Roche monotherapy arm compared to the FOLFOX-4 arm.
ML18147: This was a Phase III randomised, controlled, open-label trial investigating Avastin Roche 5.0 mg/kg every 2 weeks or 7.5 mg/kg every 3 weeks in combination with fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy versus fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy alone in patients with mCRC who have progressed on a first-line bevacizumab-containing regimen.
Patients with histologically confirmed mCRC and disease progression were randomised 1:1 within 3 months after discontinuation of bevacizumab first-line therapy to receive fluoropyrimidine/oxaliplatin- or fluoropyrimidine/irinotecan-based chemotherapy (chemotherapy switched depending on first-line chemotherapy) with or without bevacizumab. Treatment was given until progressive disease or unacceptable toxicity. The primary outcome measure was overall survival defined as the time from randomisation until death from any cause.
A total of 820 patients were randomised. The addition of bevacizumab to fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy resulted in a statistically significant prolongation of survival in patients with mCRC who have progressed on a first-line bevacizumab-containing regimen (ITT=819) (see Table 6).

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Statistically significant improvements in progression-free survival were also observed. Objective response rate was low in both treatment arms and the difference was not significant.
Study E3200 used a 5 mg/kg/week equivalent dose of bevacizumab in bevacizumab-naive patients, while study ML18147 used a 2.5 mg/kg/week equivalent dose of bevacizumab in bevacizumab-pretreated patients. A cross-trial comparison of the efficacy and safety data is limited by differences between these studies, most notably in patient populations, previous bevacizumab exposure and chemotherapy regimens. Both the 5 mg/kg/week and 2.5 mg/kg/week equivalent doses of bevacizumab provided a statistically significant benefit with regards to OS (HR 0.751 in study E3200; HR 0.81 in study ML18147) and PFS (HR 0.518 in study E3200; HR 0.68 in study ML18147). In terms of safety, there was a higher overall incidence of Grade 3-5 AEs in study E3200 relative to study ML18147.
Metastatic Breast Cancer (mBC): A large Phase III trial was designed to investigate the treatment effect of Avastin Roche in combination with individual chemotherapy agent (paclitaxel), as measured by the primary endpoint of PFS. A clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvement in PFS was observed.
Summarised as follows are PFS results for the individual chemotherapy agent (paclitaxel) included in the indication: Study E2100 (paclitaxel): Median PFS increase 5.6 months, HR 0.421 (p <0.0001, 95% CI 0.343; 0.516).
Further details of the study and the results are provided as follows.
ECOG E2100: Trial E2100 was an open-label, randomised, active controlled, multicentre clinical trial evaluating Avastin Roche in combination with paclitaxel for locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer in patients who had not previously received chemotherapy for locally recurrent and metastatic disease. Patients were randomised to paclitaxel alone (90 mg/m² IV over 1 hour once weekly for three out of four weeks) or in combination with Avastin Roche (10 mg/kg IV infusion every two weeks). Prior hormonal therapy for the treatment of metastatic disease was allowed. Adjuvant taxane therapy was allowed only if it was completed at least 12 months prior to trial entry. Of the 722 patients in the trial, the majority of patients had HER2-negative disease (90%), with a small number of patients with unknown (8%) or confirmed HER2-positive status (2%), who had previously been treated with or were considered unsuitable for trastuzumab therapy. Furthermore, 65% of patients had received adjuvant chemotherapy including 19% prior taxanes and 49% prior anthracyclines. Patients with central nervous system metastases, including previously treated or resected brain lesions, were excluded.
In trial E2100, patients were treated until disease progression. In situations where early discontinuation of chemotherapy was required, treatment with Avastin Roche as a single agent continued until disease progression. The patient characteristics were similar across the trial arms. The primary endpoint of this trial was progression free survival (PFS), based on trial investigators' assessment of disease progression. In addition, an independent review of the primary endpoint was also conducted. The results of this trial are presented in Table 7.

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The clinical benefit of Avastin Roche as measured by PFS was seen in all pre-specified subgroups tested (including disease-free interval, number of metastatic sites, prior receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy and oestrogen receptor (ER) status).
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): First-line treatment of non-squamous NSCLC in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy.
The safety and efficacy of Avastin Roche, in addition to platinum-based chemotherapy, in the first-line treatment of patients with non- squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), was investigated in trials E4599 and BO17704. An overall survival benefit has been demonstrated in trial E4599 with a 15 mg/kg/q3wk dose of bevacizumab. Trial BO17704 has demonstrated that both 7.5 mg/kg/q3wk and 15 mg/kg/q3wk bevacizumab doses increase progression free survival and response rate.
E4599: E4599 was an open-label, randomised, active-controlled, multicentre clinical trial evaluating Avastin Roche as first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced (stage IIIb with malignant pleural effusion), metastatic or recurrent NSCLC other than predominantly squamous cell histology.
Patients were randomised to platinum-based chemotherapy (paclitaxel 200 mg/m²) and carboplatin AUC = 6.0, both by IV infusion (PC) on day 1 of every 3-week cycle for up to 6 cycles or PC in combination with Avastin Roche at a dose of 15 mg/kg IV infusion day 1 of every 3-week cycle. After completion of six cycles of carboplatin-paclitaxel chemotherapy or upon premature discontinuation of chemotherapy, patients on the Avastin Roche + carboplatin-paclitaxel arm continued to receive Avastin Roche as a single agent every 3 weeks until disease progression. 878 patients were randomised to the two arms.
During the trial, of the patients who received trial treatment, 32.2% (136/422) of patients received 7-12 administrations of Avastin Roche and 21.1% (89/422) of patients received 13 or more administrations of Avastin Roche.
The primary endpoint was duration of survival. Results are presented in Table 8.

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In an exploratory analysis, the extent of Avastin Roche benefit on overall survival was less pronounced in the subgroup of patients who did not have adenocarcinoma histology.
BO17704: Trial BO17704 was a randomised, double-blind phase III trial of Avastin Roche in addition to cisplatin and gemcitabine versus placebo, cisplatin and gemcitabine in patients with locally advanced (stage IIIb with supraclavicular lymph node metastases or with malignant pleural or pericardial effusion), metastatic or recurrent non-squamous NSCLC, who had not received prior chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was progression free survival, secondary endpoints for the trial included the duration of overall survival.
Patients were randomised to platinum-based chemotherapy, cisplatin 80 mg/m² intravenous infusion on day 1 and gemcitabine 1250 mg/m² intravenous infusion on days 1 and 8 of every 3-week cycle for up to 6 cycles (CG) with placebo or CG with Avastin Roche at a dose of 7.5 or 15 mg/kg IV infusion day 1 of every 3-week cycle. In the Avastin Roche-containing arms, patients could receive Avastin Roche as a single-agent every 3 weeks until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Trial results show that 94% (277/296) of eligible patients went on to receive single agent bevacizumab at cycle 7. A high proportion of patients (approximately 62%) went on to receive a variety of non-protocol specified anti-cancer therapies, which may have impacted the analysis of overall survival.
The efficacy results are presented in Table 9.

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First-line treatment of non-squamous NSCLC with EGFR activating mutations in combination with erlotinib.
JO25567: Study JO25567 was a randomized, open-label, multi-center Phase II study conducted in Japan to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Avastin Roche used in addition to erlotinib in patients with non-squamous NSCLC with EGFR activating mutations (exon 19 deletion or exon 21 L858R mutation) who had not received prior systemic therapy for Stage IIIB/IV or recurrent disease.
The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) based on independent review assessment. Secondary endpoints included overall survival, response rate, disease control rate, duration of response, and safety.
EGFR mutation status was determined for each patient prior to patient screening and 154 patients were randomised to receive either erlotinib + Avastin Roche (erlotinib 150 mg oral daily + Avastin Roche [15 mg/kg IV every 3 weeks]) or erlotinib monotherapy (150 mg oral daily) until disease progression (PD) or unacceptable toxicity. In the absence of PD, discontinuation of one component of study treatment in the erlotinib + Avastin Roche arm did not lead to discontinuation of the other component of study treatment as specified in the study protocol.
The efficacy results of the study are presented in Table 10.

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Advanced and/or Metastatic Renal Cell Cancer (mRCC): Avastin Roche in Combination with Interferon alfa-2a for the First-Line Treatment of Advanced and/or Metastatic Renal Cell Cancer (BO17705).
This was a phase III randomised double-blind trial conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Avastin Roche in combination with interferon (IFN) alfa-2a versus IFN alfa-2a alone as first-line treatment in mRCC. The 649 randomised patients (641 treated) had Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) of ≥ 70%, no CNS metastases and adequate organ function. Patients were nephrectomised for primary renal cell carcinoma. Avastin Roche 10 mg/kg was given every 2 weeks until disease progression. IFN alfa-2a was given up to 52 weeks or until disease progression at a recommended starting dose of 9 MIU three times a week, allowing a dose reduction to 3 MIU three times a week in 2 steps. Patients were stratified according to country and Motzer score and the treatment arms were shown to be well balanced for the prognostic factors.
The primary endpoint was overall survival, with secondary endpoints for the trial including progression-free survival. The addition of Avastin Roche to IFN-alpha-2a significantly increased PFS and objective tumour response rate. These results have been confirmed through an independent radiological review. However, the increase in the primary endpoint of overall survival by 2 months was not significant (HR=0.91). A high proportion of patients (approximately 63% IFN/placebo; 55% Avastin Roche/IFN) received a variety of non-specified post-trial anti-cancer therapies, including antineoplastic agents, which may have impacted the analysis of overall survival.
The efficacy results are presented in Table 11.

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An exploratory multivariate Cox regression model using backward selection indicated that the following baseline prognostic factors were strongly associated with survival independent of treatment: gender, white blood cell count, platelets, body weight loss in the 6 months prior to trial entry, number of metastatic sites, sum of longest diameter of target lesions, Motzer score.
Adjustment for these baseline factors resulted in a treatment hazard ratio of 0.78 (95% CI [0.63;0.96], p=0.0219), indicating a 22% reduction in the risk of death for patients in the Avastin Roche + IFN alfa-2a arm compared to IFN alfa-2a arm.
Ninety seven (97) patients in the IFN alfa-2a arm and 131 patients in the Avastin Roche arm reduced the dose of IFN alfa-2a from 9 MIU to either 6 or 3 MIU three times a week as pre-specified in the protocol. Dose-reduction of IFN alfa-2a did not appear to affect the efficacy of the combination of Avastin Roche and IFN alfa-2a based on PFS event free rates over time, as shown by a sub-group analysis. The 131 patients in the Avastin Roche + IFN alfa-2a arm who reduced and maintained the IFN alfa-2a dose at 6 or 3 MIU during the trial, exhibited at 6, 12 and 18 months PFS event free rates of 73, 52 and 21% respectively, as compared to 61, 43 and 17% in the total population of patients receiving Avastin Roche + IFN alfa-2a.
AVF2938: This was a randomised, double-blind, phase II clinical trial investigating Avastin Roche 10 mg/kg in a 2 weekly schedule with the same dose of Avastin Roche in combination with 150 mg daily erlotinib, in patients with metastatic clear cell RCC. A total of 104 patients were randomised to treatment in this trial, 53 to Avastin Roche 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks plus placebo and 51 to Avastin Roche 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks plus erlotinib 150 mg daily. The analysis of the primary endpoint showed no difference between the Avastin Roche + Placebo arm and the Avastin Roche + Erlotinib arm (median PFS 8.5 versus 9.9 months). Seven patients in each arm had an objective response. The addition of erlotinib to bevacizumab did not result in an improvement in OS (HR = 1.764; p=0.1789), duration of objective response (6.7 vs 9.1 months) or time to symptom progression (HR = 1.172; p=0.5076).
AVF0890: This was a randomised phase II trial conducted to compare the efficacy and safety of bevacizumab versus placebo. A total of 116 patients were randomised to receive bevacizumab 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks (n=39), 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks; (n=37), or placebo (n=40). An interim analysis showed there was a significant prolongation of the time to progression of disease in the 10 mg/kg group as compared with the placebo group (hazard ratio, 2.55; p < 0.001). There was a small difference, of borderline significance, between the time to progression of disease in the 3 mg/kg group and that in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 1.26; p=0.053). Four patients had objective (partial) response, and all of these had received the 10 mg/kg dose bevacizumab; the ORR for the 10 mg/kg dose was 10%.
Malignant Glioma (WHO Grade IV) - Glioblastoma: AVF3708g: The efficacy and safety of Avastin Roche as treatment for patients with glioblastoma was studied in an open-label, multicentre, randomised, non-comparative study (AVF3708g).
Glioblastoma patients in first or second relapse after prior radiotherapy (completed at least 8 weeks prior to receiving Avastin Roche) and temozolomide, were randomised (1:1) to receive Avastin Roche (10mg/kg IV infusion every 2 weeks) or Avastin Roche plus irinotecan (125 mg/m² IV or 340 mg/m² IV for patients on enzyme-inducing anti-epileptic drugs every 2 weeks) until disease progression or until unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoints of the study were 6-month progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR) as assessed by an independent review facility (IRF). Other outcome measures were duration of PFS, duration of response and overall survival.
Results of the study are summarised in Table 12.

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In study AVF3708g, six-month PFS based on IRF assessments was significantly higher (p < 0.0001) compared with historical controls for both treatment arms: 42.6% in the Avastin Roche arm and 50.3% in the Avastin Roche plus irinotecan arm (investigator assessment: 43.6% in the Avastin Roche arm and 57.9% in the Avastin Roche plus irinotecan arm). Objective response rates were also significantly higher (p < 0.0001) compared with historical controls for both treatment arms: 28.2% in the Avastin Roche arm and 37.8% in the Avastin Roche plus irinotecan arm (investigator assessment: 41.2% in the Avastin Roche arm and 51.2% in the Avastin Roche plus irinotecan arm).
The majority of patients who were receiving steroids at baseline, including responders and non-responders, were able to reduce their steroid utilization over time while receiving bevacizumab treatment. The majority of patients experiencing an objective response or prolonged PFS (at week 24) were able to maintain or improve their neurocognitive functions while on study treatment compared to baseline. The majority of patients that remained in the study and were progression free at 24 weeks, had a Karnofsky performance status (KPS) that remained stable.
Epithelial Ovarian, Fallopian Tube and Primary Peritoneal Cancer: Front-line treatment of Ovarian Cancer: The safety and efficacy of Avastin Roche in the front-line treatment of patients with epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer were studied in two phase III trials (GOG-0218 and BO17707) that evaluated the effect of the addition of Avastin Roche to carboplatin and paclitaxel compared to the chemotherapy regimen alone.
GOG-0218: The GOG-0218 study was a phase III multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, three arm study evaluating the effect of adding Avastin Roche to an approved chemotherapy regimen (carboplatin and paclitaxel) in patients with advanced (FIGO stages IIIB, IIIC and IV) epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer.
Patients who had received prior therapy with bevacizumab or prior systemic anticancer therapy for ovarian cancer (e.g. chemotherapy, monoclonal antibody therapy, tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy, or hormonal therapy) or previous radiotherapy to the abdomen or pelvis were excluded from the study.
A total of 1873 patients were randomised in equal proportions to the following three arms: CPP arm: Five cycles of placebo (started cycle 2) in combination with carboplatin (AUC 6) and paclitaxel (175 mg/m²) for 6 cycles followed by placebo alone, for a total of up to 15 months of therapy.
CPB15 arm: Five cycles of Avastin Roche (15 mg/kg q3w started cycle 2) in combination with carboplatin (AUC 6) and paclitaxel (175 mg/m²) for 6 cycles followed by placebo alone, for a total of up to 15 months of therapy.
CPB15+ arm: Five cycles of Avastin Roche (15 mg/kg q3w started cycle 2) in combination with carboplatin (AUC 6) and paclitaxel (175 mg/m²) for 6 cycles followed by continued use of Avastin Roche (15 mg/kg q3w) as single agent for a total of up to 15 months of therapy.
The majority of patients included in the study were White (87% in all three arms); the median age was 60 years in CPP and CPB15 arms and 59 years in CPB15+ arm; and 29% of patients in CPP or CPB15 and 26% in CPB15+ were over 65 years of age. Overall approximately 50% of patients had a GOG PS of 0 at baseline, 43% a GOG PS score of 1, and 7% a GOG PS score of 2. Most patients had EOC (82% in CPP and CPB15, 85% in CPB15+) followed by PPC (16% in CPP, 15% in CPB15, 13% in CPB15+) and FTC (1% in CPP, 3% in CPB15, 2% in CPB15+). The majority of patients had serous adenocarcinoma histologic type (85% in CPP and CPB15, 86% in CPB15+). Overall approximately 34% of patients were FIGO Stage III optimally debulked with gross residual disease, 40% Stage III sub-optimally debulked, and 26% were Stage IV patients.
The primary endpoint was PFS based on investigator's assessment of disease progression based on radiological scans or CA-125 levels, or symptomatic deterioration per protocol. In addition, a prespecified analysis of the data censoring for CA-125 progression events was conducted, as well as an independent review of PFS as determined by radiological scans.
The trial met its primary objective of PFS improvement. Compared to patients treated with chemotherapy (carboplatin and paclitaxel) alone in the front-line setting, patients who received bevacizumab at a dose of 15 mg/kg q3w in combination with chemotherapy and continued to receive bevacizumab alone (CPB15+), had a clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvement in PFS.
In patients who only received bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy and did not continue to receive bevacizumab alone (CPB15), no clinically meaningful benefit in PFS was observed.
The results of this study are summarised in Table 13.

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Prespecified PFS analyses were conducted, all with a cut-off date of 29 September 2009. The results of these prespecified analyses are as follows: The protocol specified analysis of investigator-assessed PFS (without censoring for CA-125 progression or non-protocol therapy [NPT]) shows a stratified hazard ratio of 0.71 (95% CI: 0.61-0.83, 1-sided log-rank p-value < 0.0001) when CPB15+ is compared with CPP, with a median PFS of 10.4 months in the CPP arm and 14.1 months in the CPB15+ arm.
The primary analysis of investigator-assessed PFS (censoring for CA-125 progressions and NPT) shows a stratified hazard ratio of 0.62 (95% CI: 0.52-0.75, 1-sided log-rank p-value < 0.0001) when CPB15+ is compared with CPP, with a median PFS of 12.0 months in the CPP arm and 18.2 months in the CPB15+ arm.
The analysis of PFS as determined by the independent review committee (censoring for NPT) shows a stratified hazard ratio of 0.62 (95% CI: 0.50-0.77, 1-sided log-rank p-value < 0.0001) when CPB15+ is compared with CPP, with a median PFS of 13.1 in the CPP arm and 19.1 months in the CPB15+ arm.
PFS subgroup analyses by disease stage and debulking status are summarised in Table 14. These results demonstrate robustness of the analysis of PFS as shown in Table 13.

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BO17707 (ICON7): BO17707 was a Phase III, two arm, multicentre, randomised, controlled, open-label study comparing the effect of adding Avastin Roche to carboplatin plus paclitaxel in patients with FIGO stage I or IIA (Grade 3 or clear cell histology only; n = 142), or FIGO stage IIB - IV (all Grades and all histological types, n = 1386) epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer following surgery (NCI-CTCAE v.3).
Patients who had received prior therapy with bevacizumab or prior systemic anticancer therapy for ovarian cancer (e.g. chemotherapy, monoclonal antibody therapy, tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy, or hormonal therapy) or previous radiotherapy to the abdomen or pelvis were excluded from the study.
A total of 1528 patients were randomised in equal proportions to the following two arms: CP arm: Carboplatin (AUC 6) and paclitaxel (175 mg/m²) for 6 cycles of 3 weeks duration.
CPB7.5+ arm: Carboplatin (AUC 6) and paclitaxel (175 mg/m²) for 6 cycles of 3 weeks plus Avastin Roche (7.5 mg/kg q3w) for up to 12 months (Avastin Roche was started at cycle 2 of chemotherapy if treatment was initiated within 4 weeks of surgery or at cycle 1 if treatment was initiated more than 4 weeks after surgery).
The majority of patients included in the study were White (96%), the median age was 57 years in both treatment arms, 25% of patients in each treatment arm were 65 years of age or over, and approximately 50% of patients had an ECOG PS of 1; 7% of patients in each treatment arm had an ECOG PS of 2. The majority of patients had EOC (87.7%) followed by PPC (6.9%) and FTC (3.7%) or a mixture of the three origins (1.7%). Most patients were FIGO Stage III (both 68%) followed by FIGO Stage IV (13% and 14%), FIGO Stage II (10% and 11%) and FIGO Stage I (9% and 7%). The majority of the patients in each treatment arm (74% and 71%) had poorly differentiated (Grade 3) primary tumours at baseline. The incidence of each histologic sub-type of EOC was similar between the treatment arms; 69% of patients in each treatment arm had serous adenocarcinoma histologic type.
The primary endpoint was PFS as assessed by the investigator using RECIST.
The trial met its primary objective of PFS improvement. Compared to patients treated with chemotherapy (carboplatin and paclitaxel) alone in the front-line setting, patients who received bevacizumab at a dose of 7.5 mg/kg q3w in combination with chemotherapy and continued to receive bevacizumab for up to 18 cycles had a statistically significant improvement in PFS.
The results of this study are summarised in Table 15.

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The primary analysis of investigator-assessed PFS with a data cut-off date of 28 February 2010 shows an unstratified hazard ratio of 0.79 (95% CI: 0.68-0.91, 2-sided log-rank p-value 0.0010) with a median PFS of 16.0 months in the CP arm and 18.3 months in the CPB7.5+ arm.
PFS subgroup analyses by disease stage and debulking status are summarised in Table 16. These results demonstrate robustness of the primary analysis of PFS as shown in Table 15.

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Recurrent Ovarian Cancer: The safety and efficacy of Avastin Roche in the treatment of recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer was studied in two phase III trials (AVF4095g and MO22224) with different patient populations and chemotherapy regimens.
AVF4095g evaluated the efficacy and safety of bevacizumab in combination with carboplatin and gemcitabine in patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer.
MO22224 evaluated the efficacy and safety of bevacizumab in combination with paclitaxel, topotecan, or pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in patients with platinum-resistant recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer.
AVF4095g: The safety and efficacy of Avastin Roche in the treatment of patients with platinum-sensitive, recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer, who have not received prior chemotherapy in the recurrent setting or prior bevacizumab treatment, was studied in a phase III randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (AVF4095g). The study compared the effect of adding Avastin Roche to carboplatin and gemcitabine chemotherapy and continuing Avastin Roche as a single agent to progression, to carboplatin and gemcitabine alone.
Only patients with histologically documented ovarian, primary peritoneal, or fallopian tube carcinoma that had recurred >6 months after platinum-based chemotherapy and who had not received chemotherapy in the recurrent setting and who have not received prior therapy with bevacizumab or other VEGF inhibitors or VEGF receptor-targeted agents were included in the study.
A total of 484 patients with measurable disease were randomised 1:1 to either: Carboplatin (AUC4, Day 1) and gemcitabine (1000 mg/m² on Days 1 and 8) and concurrent placebo every 3 weeks for 6 and up to 10 cycles followed by placebo (every 3 weeks) alone until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Carboplatin (AUC4, Day 1) and gemcitabine (1000 mg/m² on Days 1 and 8) and concurrent Avastin Roche (15 mg/kg Day 1) every 3 weeks for 6 and up to 10 cycles followed by Avastin Roche (15 mg/kg every 3 weeks) alone until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
The primary endpoint was progression-free survival based on investigator assessment using modified RECIST 1.0. Additional endpoints included objective response, duration of response, overall survival and safety. An independent review of the primary endpoint was also conducted.
The results of this study are summarised in Table 17.

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PFS subgroup analyses depending on recurrence since last platinum therapy are summarised in Table 18.

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MO22224: Study MO22224 evaluated the efficacy and safety of bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy for platinum-resistant recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer. This study was designed as an open-label, randomised, two-arm Phase III evaluation of bevacizumab plus chemotherapy (CT+BV) versus chemotherapy alone (CT).
A total of 361 patients were enrolled into this study and administered either chemotherapy (paclitaxel, topotecan, or pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) alone or in combination with bevacizumab: CT Arm (chemotherapy alone): Paclitaxel 80 mg/m² as a 1-hour IV infusion on Days 1, 8, 15, and 22 every 4 weeks.
Topotecan 4 mg/m² as a 30-minute IV infusion on Days 1, 8, and 15 every 4 weeks. Alternatively, a 1.25 mg/m² dose could be administered over 30 minutes on Days 1-5 every 3 weeks.
PLD 40 mg/m² as a 1 mg/min IV infusion on Day 1 only every 4 weeks. After Cycle 1, the drug could be delivered as a 1-hour infusion.
CT+BV Arm (chemotherapy plus bevacizumab): The chosen chemotherapy was combined with bevacizumab 10 mg/kg IV every 2 weeks (or bevacizumab 15 mg/kg every 3 weeks if used in combination with topotecan 1.25 mg/m² on Days 1-5 every 3 weeks).
Eligible patients had epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer that progressed within <6 months of previous platinum therapy consisting of a minimum of 4 platinum therapy cycles. Patients should have had a life expectancy of ≥12 weeks and no prior radiotherapy to the pelvis or abdomen. Most patients were FIGO Stage IIIC or Stage IV. The majority of patients in both arms had an ECOG Performance Status (PS) of 0 (CT: 56.4% vs. CT + BV: 61.2%). The percentage of patients with an ECOG PS of 1 or ≥2 was 38.7% and 5.0% in the CT arm, and 29.8% and 9.0% in the CT + BV arm. Information on race exists for 29.3% of patients and nearly all patients were white. The median age of patients was 61.0 (range: 25-84) years. A total of 16 patients (4.4%) were > 75 years old. The overall rates of discontinuation due to adverse events were 8.8% in the CT arm and 43.6% in the CT + BV arm (mostly due to Grade 2-3 adverse events) and the median time to discontinuation in the CT + BV arm was 5.2 months compared with 2.4 months in the CT arm. The rates of discontinuation due to adverse events in the subgroup of patients >65 years old were 8.8% in the CT arm and 50.0% in the CT + BV arm. The HR for PFS was 0.47 (95% CI: 0.35, 0.62) and 0.45 (95% CI: 0.31, 0.67) for the < 65 and ≥65 subgroups, respectively.
The primary endpoint was progression-free-survival, with secondary endpoints including objective response rate and overall survival. Results are presented in Table 19.

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The trial met its primary objective of PFS improvement. Compared to patients treated with chemotherapy (paclitaxel, topotecan or PLD) alone in the recurrent platinum-resistant setting, patients who received bevacizumab at a dose of 10 mg/kg every 2 weeks (or 15 mg/kg every 3 weeks if used in combination with 1.25 mg/m² topotecan on Days 1-5 every 3 weeks) in combination with chemotherapy and continued to receive bevacizumab until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity, had a statistically significant improvement in PFS. The exploratory PFS and OS analyses by chemotherapy cohort (paclitaxel, topotecan and PLD) are summarised in Table 20.

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Cervical Cancer: GOG-0240: The efficacy and safety of Avastin Roche in combination with chemotherapy (paclitaxel and cisplatin or paclitaxel and topotecan) in the treatment for patients with persistent, recurrent or metastatic carcinoma of the cervix was evaluated in study GOG-0240, a randomised, four-arm, open label, multi-centre phase III trial.
A total of 452 patients were randomised to receive either: Paclitaxel 135 mg/m² IV over 24 hours on Day 1 and cisplatin 50 mg/m² IV on Day 2, every 3 weeks (q3w); or Paclitaxel 175 mg/m² IV over 3 hours on Day 1 and cisplatin 50 mg/m² IV on Day 2 (q3w); or Paclitaxel 175 mg/m² IV over 3 hours on Day 1 and cisplatin 50 mg/m² IV on Day 1 (q3w).
Paclitaxel 135 mg/m² IV over 24 hours on Day 1 and cisplatin 50 mg/m² IV on Day 2 plus bevacizumab 15 mg/kg IV on Day 2 (q3w); or Paclitaxel 175 mg/m² IV over 3 hours on Day 1 and cisplatin 50 mg/m² IV on Day 2 plus bevacizumab 15 mg/kg IV on Day 2 (q3w); or Paclitaxel 175 mg/m² IV over 3 hours on Day 1 and cisplatin 50 mg/m² IV on Day 1 plus bevacizumab 15 mg/kg IV on Day 1 (q3w).
Paclitaxel 175 mg/m² IV over 3 hours on Day 1 and topotecan 0.75 mg/m² IV over 30 minutes on days 1-3 (q3w).
Paclitaxel 175 mg/m² IV over 3 hours on Day 1 and topotecan 0.75 mg/m² IV over 30 minutes on Days 1-3 plus bevacizumab 15 mg/kg IV on Day 1 (q3w).
Eligible patients had persistent, recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma, adenosquamous carcinoma, or adenocarcinoma of the cervix which was not amenable to curative treatment with surgery and/or radiation therapy and who have not received prior therapy with bevacizumab or other VEGF inhibitors or VEGF receptor-targeted agents.
The median age was 46.0 years (range: 20-83) in the Chemo alone group and 48.0 years (range: 22-85) in the Chemo+Avastin Roche group; with 9.3% of patients in the Chemo alone group and 7.5% of patients in the Chemo+Avastin Roche group over the age of 65 years.
Of the 452 patients randomised at baseline, the majority of patients were white (80.0% in the Chemo alone group and 75.3% in the Chemo+Avastin Roche group), had squamous cell carcinoma (67.1% in the Chemo alone group and 69.6% in the Chemo+Avastin Roche group), had persistent/recurrent disease (83.6% in the Chemo alone group and 82.8% in the Chemo+Avastin Roche group), had 1-2 metastatic sites (72.0% in the Chemo alone group and 76.2% in the Chemo+Avastin Roche group), had lymph node involvement (50.2% in the Chemo alone group and 56.4% in the Chemo+Avastin Roche group), and had a platinum free interval ≥6 months (72.5% in the Chemo alone group and 64.4% in the Chemo+Avastin Roche group).
The primary efficacy endpoint was overall survival. Secondary efficacy endpoints included progression-free survival and objective response rate. Results from the primary analysis and the follow-up analysis are presented by Avastin Roche Treatment and by Trial Treatment in Table 21 and Table 22, respectively.

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Paediatric Population: The European Medicines Agency has waived the obligation to submit the results of studies, in all subsets of the paediatric population, in breast carcinoma, adenocarcinoma of the colon and rectum, lung carcinoma (small cell and non-small cell carcinoma), kidney and renal pelvis carcinoma (excluding nephroblastoma, nephroblastomatosis, clear cell sarcoma, mesoblastic nephroma, renal medullary carcinoma and rhabdoid tumour of the kidney), ovarian carcinoma (excluding rhabdomyosarcoma and germ cell tumours), fallopian tube carcinoma (excluding rhabdomyosarcoma and germ cell tumours), peritoneal carcinoma (excluding blastomas and sarcomas) and cervix and corpus uteri carcinoma.
Anti-tumour activity was not observed in two studies among a total of 30 children aged > 3 years old with relapsed or progressive high-grade glioma when treated with bevacizumab and irinotecan. There is insufficient information to determine the safety and efficacy of bevacizumab in children with newly-diagnosed high-grade glioma.
In a single-arm study (PBTC-022), 18 children with recurrent or progressive non-pontine high-grade glioma (including 8 with glioblastoma [WHO Grade IV], 9 with anaplastic astrocytoma [Grade III] and 1 with anaplastic oligodendroglioma [Grade III]) were treated with bevacizumab (10 mg/kg) two weeks apart and then with bevacizumab in combination with CPT-11 (125-350 mg/m²) once every two weeks until progression. There were no objective (partial or complete) radiological responses (MacDonald criteria). Toxicity and adverse reactions included arterial hypertension and fatigue as well as CNS ischaemia with acute neurological deficit.
In a retrospective single institution series, 12 consecutive (2005 to 2008) children with relapsed or progressive high-grade glioma (3 with WHO Grade IV, 9 with Grade III) were treated with bevacizumab (10 mg/kg) and irinotecan (125 mg/m²) every 2 weeks. There were no complete responses and 2 partial responses (MacDonald criteria).
Pharmacokinetics: The pharmacokinetic data for bevacizumab are available from ten clinical trials in patients with solid tumours. In all clinical trials, bevacizumab was administered as an IV infusion. The rate of infusion was based on tolerability, with an initial infusion duration of 90 minutes. The pharmacokinetics of bevacizumab was linear at doses ranging from 1 to 10 mg/kg.
Distribution: The typical value for central volume (V_c) was 2.73 L and 3.28 L for female and male patients respectively, which is in the range that has been described for IgGs and other monoclonal antibodies. The typical value for peripheral volume (V_p) was 1.69 L and 2.35 L for female and male patients respectively, when bevacizumab is co-administered with anti-neoplastic agents. After correcting for body weight, male patients had a larger V_c (+ 20%) than female patients.
Metabolism: Assessment of bevacizumab metabolism in rabbits following a single IV dose of ¹²⁵I-bevacizumab indicated that its metabolic profile was similar to that expected for a native IgG molecule which does not bind VEGF. The metabolism and elimination of bevacizumab is similar to endogenous IgG i.e. primarily via proteolytic catabolism throughout the body, including endothelial cells, and does not rely primarily on elimination through the kidneys and liver. Binding of the IgG to the FcRn receptor results in protection from cellular metabolism and the long terminal half-life.
Elimination: The value for clearance is, on average, equal to 0.188 and 0.220 L/day for female and male patients, respectively. After correcting for body weight, male patients had a higher bevacizumab clearance (+ 17%) than females. According to the two-compartmental model, the elimination half-life is 18 days for a typical female patient and 20 days for a typical male patient.
Low albumin and high tumour burden are generally indicative of disease severity. Bevacizumab clearance was approximately 30% faster in patients with low levels of serum albumin and 7% faster in subjects with higher tumour burden when compared with a typical patient with median values of albumin and tumour burden.
Pharmacokinetics in Special Populations: The population pharmacokinetics were analysed to evaluate the effects of demographic characteristics. The results showed no significant difference in the pharmacokinetics of bevacizumab in relation to age.
Renal impairment: No trials have been conducted to investigate the pharmacokinetics of bevacizumab in renally impaired patients since the kidneys are not a major organ for bevacizumab metabolism or excretion.
Hepatic impairment: No trials have been conducted to investigate the pharmacokinetics of bevacizumab in patients with hepatic impairment since the liver is not a major organ for bevacizumab metabolism or excretion.
Paediatric population: The pharmacokinetics of bevacizumab have been studied in a limited number of paediatric patients. The resulting pharmacokinetic data suggest that the volume of distribution and clearance of bevacizumab were comparable to that in adults with solid tumours.
Toxicology: Preclinical Safety Data: In studies of up to 26 weeks duration in cynomolgus monkeys, physeal dysplasia was observed in young animals with open growth plates, at bevacizumab average serum concentrations below the expected human therapeutic average serum concentrations. In rabbits, bevacizumab was shown to inhibit wound healing at doses below the proposed clinical dose. Effects on wound healing were shown to be fully reversible.
Studies to evaluate the mutagenic and carcinogenic potential of bevacizumab have not been performed.
No specific studies in animals have been conducted to evaluate the effect on fertility. An adverse effect on female fertility can however be expected as repeat dose toxicity studies in animals have shown inhibition of the maturation of ovarian follicles and a decrease/absence of corpora lutea and associated decrease in ovarian and uterus weight as well as a decrease in the number of menstrual cycles.
Bevacizumab has been shown to be embryotoxic and teratogenic when administered to rabbits. Observed effects included decreases in maternal and foetal body weights, an increased number of foetal resorptions and an increased incidence of specific gross and skeletal foetal malformations. Adverse foetal outcomes were observed at all tested doses, of which the lowest dose resulted in average serum concentrations approximately 3 times larger than in humans receiving 5 mg/kg every 2 weeks. Information on foetal malformations observed in the post marketing setting are provided in Use in Pregnancy & Lactation and Adverse Reactions.

Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (mCRC): Bevacizumab in combination with fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy is indicated for treatment of adult patients with metastatic carcinoma of the colon or rectum.
Metastatic Breast Cancer (mBC): Bevacizumab in combination with paclitaxel is indicated for first-line treatment of adult patients with metastatic breast cancer. For further information as to human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status, please refer to Pharmacology: Pharmacodynamics: Clinical Efficacy under Actions.
Advanced, metastatic or recurrent Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): Bevacizumab, in addition to platinum-based chemotherapy, is indicated for first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced, metastatic or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer other than predominantly squamous cell histology.
Bevacizumab, in combination with erlotinib, is indicated for first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced, metastatic or recurrent non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer with Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) activating mutations (see Pharmacology: Pharmacodynamics: Clinical Efficacy under Actions).
Advanced and/or metastatic Renal Cell Cancer (mRCC): Bevacizumab in combination with interferon alfa-2a is indicated for first line treatment of adult patients with advanced and/or metastatic renal cell cancer.
Glioblastoma: Bevacizumab is indicated for the treatment of glioblastoma with progressive disease following prior therapy as a single agent.
The effectiveness of bevacizumab in glioblastoma is based on an improvement in objective response rate. There are no data demonstrating an improvement in disease-related symptoms or increased survival with Avastin Roche (see Pharmacology: Pharmacodynamics: Clinical Efficacy under Actions).
Epithelial Ovarian, Fallopian Tube and Primary Peritoneal Cancer: Bevacizumab, in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel is indicated for the front-line treatment of adult patients with advanced (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stages III B, III C and IV) epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer.
Bevacizumab, in combination with carboplatin and gemcitabine, is indicated for treatment of adult patients with first recurrence of platinum-sensitive epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer who have not received prior therapy with bevacizumab or other VEGF inhibitors or VEGF receptor-targeted agents.
Bevacizumab in combination with paclitaxel, topotecan, or pegylated liposomal doxorubicin is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with platinum-resistant recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who received no more than two prior chemotherapy regimens and who have not received prior therapy with bevacizumab or other VEGF inhibitors or VEGF receptor-targeted agents (see Pharmacology: Pharmacodynamics: Clinical Efficacy under Actions).
Cervical Cancer: Bevacizumab, in combination with paclitaxel and cisplatin or, alternatively, paclitaxel and topotecan in patients who cannot receive platinum therapy, is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with persistent, recurrent, or metastatic carcinoma of the cervix (see Pharmacology: Pharmacodynamics: Clinical Efficacy under Actions).

General: Avastin Roche must be administered under the supervision of a physician experienced in the use of antineoplastic medicinal products.
Metastatic Carcinoma of the Colon or Rectum (mCRC): The recommended dose of Avastin Roche, administered as an intravenous infusion, is either 5 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg of body weight given once every 2 weeks or 7.5 mg/kg or 15 mg/kg of body weight given once every 3 weeks.
It is recommended that treatment be continued until progression of the underlying disease or until unacceptable toxicity.
Metastatic Breast Cancer (mBC): The recommended dose of Avastin Roche is 10 mg/kg of body weight given once every 2 weeks or 15 mg/kg of body weight given once every 3 weeks as an intravenous infusion.
It is recommended that treatment be continued until progression of the underlying disease or until unacceptable toxicity.
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): First-line treatment of non-squamous NSCLC in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy: Avastin Roche is administered in addition to platinum-based chemotherapy for up to 6 cycles of treatment followed by Avastin Roche as a single agent until disease progression.
The recommended dose of Avastin Roche is 7.5 mg/kg or 15 mg/kg of body weight given once every 3 weeks as an intravenous infusion.
Clinical benefit in NSCLC patients has been demonstrated with both 7.5 mg/kg and 15 mg/kg doses (see Pharmacology: Pharmacodynamics: Clinical Efficacy: Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer under Actions).
It is recommended that treatment be continued until progression of the underlying disease or until unacceptable toxicity.
First-line treatment of non-squamous NSCLC with EGFR activating mutations in combination with erlotinib: EGFR mutation testing should be performed prior to initiation of treatment with the combination of Avastin Roche and erlotinib. It is important that a well-validated and robust methodology is chosen to avoid false negative or false positive determinations.
The recommended dose of Avastin Roche when used in addition to erlotinib is 15 mg/kg of body weight given once every 3 weeks as an intravenous infusion.
It is recommended that the treatment with Avastin Roche in addition to erlotinib is continued until disease progression.
For the posology and method of administration of erlotinib, please refer to the full erlotinib prescribing information.
Advanced and/or metastatic Renal Cell Cancer (mRCC): The recommended dose of Avastin Roche is 10 mg/kg of body weight given once every 2 weeks as an intravenous infusion.
It is recommended that treatment be continued until progression of the underlying disease or until unacceptable toxicity.
Glioblastoma: The recommended dose of Avastin Roche is 10 mg/kg of body weight given once every 2 weeks as an intravenous infusion.
Epithelial Ovarian, Fallopian Tube and Primary Peritoneal Cancer: Front-line treatment: Avastin Roche is administered in addition to carboplatin and paclitaxel for up to 6 cycles of treatment followed by continued use of Avastin Roche as single agent until disease progression or for a maximum of 15 months or until unacceptable toxicity, whichever occurs earlier.
The recommended dose of Avastin Roche is 15 mg/kg of body weight given once every 3 weeks as an intravenous infusion.
Treatment of platinum-sensitive recurrent disease: Avastin Roche is administered in combination with carboplatin and gemcitabine for 6 cycles and up to 10 cycles followed by continued use of Avastin Roche as single agent until disease progression.The recommended dose of Avastin Roche is 15 mg/kg of body weight given once every 3 weeks as an intravenous infusion.
Treatment of platinum-resistant recurrent disease: Avastin Roche is administered in combination with one of the following agents - paclitaxel, topotecan (given weekly) or pegylated liposomal doxorubicin. The recommended dose of Avastin Roche is 10 mg/kg of body weight given once every 2 weeks as an intravenous infusion. When Avastin Roche is administered in combination with topotecan (given on days 1-5, every 3 weeks), the recommended dose of Avastin Roche is 15 mg/kg of body weight given once every 3 weeks as an intravenous infusion. It is recommended that treatment be continued until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity (see Pharmacology: Pharmacodynamics: Clinical Efficacy under Actions, study MO22224).
Cervical Cancer: Avastin Roche is administered in combination with one of the following chemotherapy regimens: paclitaxel and cisplatin or paclitaxel and topotecan.
The recommended dose of Avastin Roche is 15 mg/kg of body weight given once every 3 weeks as an intravenous infusion.
It is recommended that treatment be continued until progression of the underlying disease or until unacceptable toxicity (see Pharmacology: Pharmacodynamics: Clinical Efficacy under Actions).
Special Dosage Instructions: Elderly patients: No dose adjustment is required in the elderly.
Patients with renal impairment: The safety and efficacy have not been studied in patients with renal impairment (see Pharmacology: Pharmacokinetics under Actions).
Patients with hepatic impairment: The safety and efficacy have not been studied in patients with hepatic impairment (see Pharmacology: Pharmacokinetics under Actions).
Paediatric population: The safety and efficacy of bevacizumab in children and adolescents have not been established. Avastin Roche is not approved for use in patients under the age of 18 years. There is no relevant use of bevacizumab in the paediatric population in the granted indications. Currently available data are described in Clinical Trials under Adverse Reactions; Pharmacology: Pharmacodynamics: Clinical Efficacy: Paediatric Population, Pharmacokinetics: Pharmacokinetics on Special Populations, and Toxicology: Preclinical Safety data under Actions but no recommendation on a posology can be made.
Avastin Roche should not be used in children aged 3 years to less than 18 years with recurrent or progressive high-grade glioma because of efficacy concerns (see Pharmacology: Pharmacodynamics: Clinical Efficacy under Actions for results of paediatric trials).
Dose reduction for adverse reactions is not recommended. If indicated, therapy should either be permanently discontinued or temporarily suspended as described in Precautions, General.
Method of Administration: The initial dose should be delivered over 90 minutes as an intravenous infusion. If the first infusion is well tolerated, the second infusion may be administered over 60 minutes. If the 60-minute infusion is well tolerated, all subsequent infusions may be administered over 30 minutes.
It should not be administered as an intravenous push or bolus.
Precautions to be taken before handling or administering the medicinal product: For instructions on dilution of the medicinal product before administration, see Special Instructions for Use, Handling and Disposal under Cautions for Usage. Avastin Roche infusions should not be administered or mixed with glucose solutions. This medicinal product must not be mixed with other medicinal products except those mentioned in Special Instructions for Use, Handling and Disposal under Cautions for Usage.

The highest dose tested in humans (20 mg/kg of body weight, intravenous every 2 weeks) was associated with severe migraine in several patients.

Hypersensitivity to the active substance or to any of the excipients.
Hypersensitivity to Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell products or other recombinant human or humanised antibodies.
Pregnancy (see Pregnancy under Use in Pregnancy & Lactation).

General: In order to improve the traceability of biological medicinal products, the trade name and the batch number of the administered product should be clearly recorded (or stated) in the patient file.
Gastrointestinal (GI) Perforations and Fistulae (see Adverse Reactions): Patients may be at an increased risk for the development of gastrointestinal perforation and gall bladder perforation when treated with Avastin Roche. Intra-abdominal inflammatory process may be a risk factor for gastrointestinal perforations in patients with metastatic carcinoma of the colon or rectum, therefore, caution should be exercised when treating these patients. Prior radiation is a risk factor for GI perforation in patients treated for persistent, recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer with Avastin Roche and all patients with GI perforation had a history of prior radiation. Therapy should be permanently discontinued in patients who develop gastrointestinal perforation.
GI-Vaginal Fistulae in Study GOG-0240: Patients treated for persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer with Avastin Roche are at increased risk of fistulae between the vagina and any part of the GI tract (Gastrointestinal-vaginal fistulae). Prior radiation is a major risk factor for the development of GI-vaginal fistulae and all patients with GI-vaginal fistulae had a history of prior radiation. Recurrence of cancer within the field of prior radiation is an additional important risk factor for the development of GI-vaginal fistulae.
Non-GI Fistulae (see Adverse Reactions): Patients may be at increased risk for the development of fistulae when treated with Avastin Roche. Permanently discontinue Avastin Roche in patients with tracheoesophageal (TE) fistula or any Grade 4 fistula [US National Cancer Institute-Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI-CTCAE v.3)]. Limited information is available on the continued use of Avastin Roche in patients with other fistulae.
In cases of internal fistula not arising in the gastrointestinal tract, discontinuation of Avastin Roche should be considered.
Wound Healing Complications (see Adverse Reactions): Avastin Roche may adversely affect the wound healing process. Serious wound healing complications, including anastomotic complications, with a fatal outcome have been reported. Therapy should not be initiated for at least 28 days following major surgery or until the surgical wound is fully healed. In patients who experienced wound healing complications during therapy, treatment should be withheld until the wound is fully healed. Therapy should be withheld for elective surgery.
Necrotising fasciitis, including fatal cases, has rarely been reported in patients treated with Avastin Roche. This condition is usually secondary to wound healing complications, gastrointestinal perforation or fistula formation. Avastin Roche therapy should be discontinued in patients who develop necrotising fasciitis, and appropriate treatment should be promptly initiated.
Hypertension (see Adverse Reactions): An increased incidence of hypertension was observed in Avastin Roche-treated patients. Clinical safety data suggest that the incidence of hypertension is likely to be dose-dependent. Pre-existing hypertension should be adequately controlled before starting Avastin Roche treatment. There is no information on the effect of Avastin Roche in patients with uncontrolled hypertension at the time of initiating therapy. Monitoring of blood pressure is generally recommended during therapy.
In most cases hypertension was controlled adequately using standard antihypertensive treatment appropriate for the individual situation of the affected patient. The use of diuretics to manage hypertension is not advised in patients who receive a cisplatin-based chemotherapy regimen. Avastin Roche should be permanently discontinued if medically significant hypertension cannot be adequately controlled with antihypertensive therapy, or if the patient develops hypertensive crisis or hypertensive encephalopathy.
Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES) (see Adverse Reactions): There have been rare reports of Avastin Roche-treated patients developing signs and symptoms that are consistent with PRES, a rare neurologic disorder, which can present with the following signs and symptoms among others: seizures, headache, altered mental status, visual disturbance, or cortical blindness, with or without associated hypertension. A diagnosis of PRES requires confirmation by brain imaging, preferably magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In patients developing PRES, treatment of specific symptoms including control of hypertension is recommended along with discontinuation of Avastin Roche. The safety of reinitiating Avastin Roche therapy in patients previously experiencing PRES is not known.
Proteinuria (see Adverse Reactions): Patients with a history of hypertension may be at increased risk for the development of proteinuria when treated with Avastin Roche. There is evidence suggesting that all Grade (US National Cancer Institute-Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events [NCI-CTCAE v.3]) proteinuria may be related to the dose. Monitoring of proteinuria by dipstick urinalysis is recommended prior to starting and during therapy. Grade 4 proteinuria (nephrotic syndrome) was seen in up to 1.4% of patients treated with Avastin Roche. Therapy should be permanently discontinued in patients who develop nephrotic syndrome (NCI-CTCAE v.3).
Arterial Thromboembolism (see Adverse Reactions): In clinical trials, the incidence of arterial thromboembolic reactions including cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs), transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs) and myocardial infarctions (MIs) was higher in patients receiving Avastin Roche in combination with chemotherapy compared to those who received chemotherapy alone.
Patients receiving Avastin Roche plus chemotherapy, with a history of arterial thromboembolism, diabetes or age greater than 65 years have an increased risk of developing arterial thromboembolic reactions during therapy. Caution should be taken when treating these patients with Avastin Roche.
Therapy should be permanently discontinued in patients who develop arterial thromboembolic reactions.
Venous Thromboembolism (see Adverse Reactions): Patients may be at risk of developing venous thromboembolic reactions, including pulmonary embolism under Avastin Roche treatment.
Patients treated for persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer with Avastin Roche in combination with paclitaxel and cisplatin may be at increased risk of venous thromboembolic events.
Avastin Roche should be discontinued in patients with life-threatening (Grade 4) thromboembolic reactions, including pulmonary embolism (NCI-CTCAE v.3). Patients with thromboembolic reactions ≤ Grade 3 need to be closely monitored (NCI-CTCAE v.3).
Haemorrhage: Patients treated with Avastin Roche have an increased risk of haemorrhage, especially tumour-associated haemorrhage. Avastin Roche should be discontinued permanently in patients who experience Grade 3 or 4 bleeding during Avastin Roche therapy (NCI-CTCAE v.3) (see Adverse Reactions).
Patients with untreated CNS metastases were routinely excluded from clinical trials with Avastin Roche, based on imaging procedures or signs and symptoms. Therefore, the risk of CNS haemorrhage in such patients has not been prospectively evaluated in randomised clinical trials (see Adverse Reactions). Patients should be monitored for signs and symptoms of CNS bleeding, and Avastin Roche treatment discontinued in cases of intracranial bleeding.
There is no information on the safety profile of Avastin Roche in patients with congenital bleeding diathesis, acquired coagulopathy or in patients receiving full dose of anticoagulants for the treatment of thromboembolism prior to starting Avastin Roche treatment, as such patients were excluded from clinical trials. Therefore, caution should be exercised before initiating therapy in these patients. However, patients who developed venous thrombosis while receiving therapy did not appear to have an increased rate of Grade 3 or above bleeding when treated with a full dose of warfarin and Avastin Roche concomitantly (NCI-CTCAE v.3).
Pulmonary Haemorrhage/Haemoptysis: Patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with Avastin Roche may be at risk of serious, and in some cases fatal, pulmonary haemorrhage/haemoptysis. Patients with recent pulmonary haemorrhage/haemoptysis (>2.5 ml of red blood) should not be treated with Avastin Roche.
Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) (see Adverse Reactions): Reactions consistent with CHF were reported in clinical trials. The findings ranged from asymptomatic declines in left ventricular ejection fraction to symptomatic CHF, requiring treatment or hospitalisation. Caution should be exercised when treating patients with clinically significant cardiovascular disease such as pre-existing coronary artery disease, or congestive heart failure with Avastin Roche.
Most of the patients who experienced CHF had metastatic breast cancer and had received previous treatment with anthracyclines, prior radiotherapy to the left chest wall or other risk factors for CHF were present.
In patients in AVF3694g who received treatment with anthracyclines and who had not received anthracyclines before, no increased incidence of all Grade CHF was observed in the anthracycline + bevacizumab group compared to the treatment with anthracyclines only. CHF Grade 3 or higher reactions were somewhat more frequent among patients receiving bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy than in patients receiving chemotherapy alone. This is consistent with results in patients in other studies of metastatic breast cancer who did not receive concurrent anthracycline treatment (NCI-CTCAE v.3) (see Adverse Reactions).
Neutropenia and Infections (see Adverse Reactions): Increased rates of severe neutropenia, febrile neutropenia, or infection with or without severe neutropenia (including some fatalities) have been observed in patients treated with some myelotoxic chemotherapy regimens plus Avastin Roche in comparison to chemotherapy alone. This has mainly been seen in combination with platinum- or taxane-based therapies in the treatment of NSCLC, mBC, and in combination with paclitaxel and topotecan in persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer.
Hypersensitivity Reactions/Infusion Reactions (see Adverse Reactions): Patients may be at risk of developing infusion/hypersensitivity reactions. Close observation of the patient during and following the administration of bevacizumab is recommended as expected for any infusion of a therapeutic humanised monoclonal antibody. If a reaction occurs, the infusion should be discontinued and appropriate medical therapies should be administered. A systematic premedication is not warranted.
Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (ONJ) (see Adverse Reactions): Cases of ONJ have been reported in cancer patients treated with Avastin Roche, the majority of whom had received prior or concomitant treatment with intravenous bisphosphonates, for which ONJ is an identified risk. Caution should be exercised when Avastin Roche and intravenous bisphosphonates are administered simultaneously or sequentially.
Invasive dental procedures are also an identified risk factor. A dental examination and appropriate preventive dentistry should be considered prior to starting the treatment with Avastin Roche. In patients who have previously received or are receiving intravenous bisphosphonates invasive dental procedures should be avoided, if possible.
Intravitreal use: Avastin Roche is not formulated for intravitreal use.
Eye Disorders: Individual cases and clusters of serious ocular adverse reactions have been reported following unapproved intravitreal use of Avastin Roche compounded from vials approved for intravenous administration in cancer patients. These reactions included infectious endophthalmitis, intraocular inflammation such as sterile endophthalmitis, uveitis and vitritis, retinal detachment, retinal pigment epithelial tear, intraocular pressure increased, intraocular haemorrhage such as vitreous haemorrhage or retinal haemorrhage and conjunctival haemorrhage. Some of these reactions have resulted in various degrees of visual loss, including permanent blindness.
Systemic Effects Following Intravitreal Use: A reduction of circulating VEGF concentration has been demonstrated following intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy. Systemic adverse reactions including non-ocular haemorrhages and arterial thromboembolic reactions have been reported following intravitreal injection of VEGF inhibitors.
Ovarian Failure/Fertility: Avastin Roche may impair female fertility (see Fertility under Use in Pregnancy & Lactation and Adverse Reactions). Therefore fertility preservation strategies should be discussed with women of child-bearing potential prior to starting treatment with Avastin Roche.
Effects on Ability to Drive and Use Machines: Avastin Roche has no or negligible influence on the ability to drive and use machines. However, somnolence and syncope have been reported with Avastin Roche use (see table 23 in Clinical Trials under Adverse Reactions). If patients are experiencing symptoms that affect their vision or concentration, or their ability to react, they should be advised not to drive and use machines until symptoms abate.

Women of childbearing potential: Women of childbearing potential have to use effective contraception during (and up to 6 months after) treatment.
Pregnancy: There are no clinical trial data on the use of Avastin Roche in pregnant women. Studies in animals have shown reproductive toxicity including malformations (see Pharmacology: Toxicology: Preclinical Safety Data under Actions). IgGs are known to cross the placenta, and Avastin Roche is anticipated to inhibit angiogenesis in the foetus, and thus is suspected to cause serious birth defects when administered during pregnancy. In the post-marketing setting, cases of foetal abnormalities in women treated with bevacizumab alone or in combination with known embryotoxic chemotherapeutics have been observed (see Adverse Reactions). Avastin Roche is contraindicated in pregnancy (see Contraindications).
Breast-feeding: It is not known whether bevacizumab is excreted in human milk. As maternal IgG is excreted in milk and bevacizumab could harm infant growth and development (see Pharmacology: Toxicology: Preclinical Safety Data under Actions), women must discontinue breast-feeding during therapy and not breast-feed for at least six months following the last dose of Avastin Roche.
Fertility: Repeat dose toxicity studies in animals have shown that bevacizumab may have an adverse effect on female fertility (see Pharmacology: Toxicology: Preclinical Safety Data under Actions). In a phase III trial in the adjuvant treatment of patients with colon cancer, a substudy with premenopausal women has shown a higher incidence of new cases of ovarian failure in the bevacizumab group compared to the control group. After discontinuation of bevacizumab treatment, ovarian function recovered in the majority of patients. Long term effects of the treatment with bevacizumab on fertility are unknown.

Clinical Trials: Summary of the safety profile: The overall safety profile of Avastin Roche is based on data from over 5,200 patients with various malignancies, predominantly treated with Avastin Roche in combination with chemotherapy in clinical trials.
The most serious adverse reactions were: Gastrointestinal perforations (see Precautions, General).
Haemorrhage, including pulmonary haemorrhage/haemoptysis, which is more common in non-small cell lung cancer patients (see Precautions, General).
Arterial thromboembolism (see Precautions, General).
The most frequently observed adverse reactions across clinical trials in patients receiving Avastin Roche were hypertension, fatigue or asthenia, diarrhoea and abdominal pain.
Analyses of the clinical safety data suggest that the occurrence of hypertension and proteinuria with Avastin Roche therapy are likely to be dose-dependent.
Tabulated list of adverse reactions: The adverse reactions listed in this section fall into the following frequency categories: Very common (≥1/10); common (≥1/100 to <1/10); uncommon (≥1/1,000 to <1/100); rare (≥1/10,000 to <1/1,000); very rare (<1/10,000); not known (cannot be estimated from the available data).
Tables 23 and 24 list adverse reactions associated with the use of Avastin Roche in combination with different chemotherapy regimens in multiple indications.
Table 23 provides all adverse reactions by frequency that were determined to have a causal relationship with Avastin Roche through: comparative incidences noted between clinical trial treatment arms (with at least a 10% difference compared to the control arm for NCI-CTCAE Grade 1-5 reactions or at least a 2% difference compared to the control arm for NCI-CTCAE Grade 3-5 reactions, post-authorisation safety studies, spontaneous reporting, epidemiological studies\non-interventional or observational studies, or through an evaluation of individual case reports.
Table 24 provides the frequency of severe adverse reactions. Severe reactions are defined as adverse events with at least a 2% difference compared to the control arm in clinical studies for NCI-CTCAE Grade 3-5 reactions. Table 24 also includes adverse reactions which are considered by the MAH to be clinically significant or severe.
Post-marketing adverse reactions are included in both Tables 23 and 24, where applicable. Detailed information about these post-marketing reactions are provided in Table 25.
Adverse reactions are added to the appropriate frequency category in the tables as follows according to the highest incidence seen in any indication.
Within each frequency category, adverse reactions are presented in the order of decreasing seriousness.
Some of the adverse reactions are reactions commonly seen with chemotherapy; however, Avastin Roche may exacerbate these reactions when combined with chemotherapeutic agents. Examples include palmar-plantar erythrodysaesthesia syndrome with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin or capecitabine, peripheral sensory neuropathy with paclitaxel or oxaliplatin, and nail disorders or alopecia with paclitaxel, and paronychia with erlotinib.

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Description of selected serious adverse reactions: Gastrointestinal (GI) Perforations and Fistulae (see Precautions, General): Avastin Roche has been associated with serious cases of gastrointestinal perforation.
Gastrointestinal perforations have been reported in clinical trials with an incidence of less than 1% in patients with non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer, up to 1.3% in patients with metastatic breast cancer, up to 2.0% in patients with metastatic renal cell cancer or in patients with ovarian cancer receiving front-line treatment, and up to 2.7% (including gastrointestinal fistula and abscess) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. From a clinical trial in patients with persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer (study GOG-0240), GI perforations (all grade) were reported in 3.2% of patients, all of whom had a history of prior pelvic radiation.
The occurrence of those events varied in type and severity, ranging from free air seen on the plain abdominal X-ray, which resolved without treatment, to intestinal perforation with abdominal abscess and fatal outcome. In some cases underlying intra-abdominal inflammation was present, either from gastric ulcer disease, tumour necrosis, diverticulitis, or chemotherapy-associated colitis.
Fatal outcome was reported in approximately a third of serious cases of gastrointestinal perforations, which represents between 0.2%-1% of all Avastin Roche treated patients.
In Avastin Roche clinical trials, gastrointestinal fistulae (all grade) have been reported with an incidence of up to 2% in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and ovarian cancer, but were also reported less commonly in patients with other types of cancer.
GI-Vaginal Fistulae in Study GOG-0240: In a trial of patients with persistent, recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer, the incidence of GI-vaginal fistulae was 8.3% in Avastin Roche-treated patients and 0.9% in control patients, all of whom had a history of prior pelvic radiation. The frequency of GI-vaginal fistulae in the group treated with Avastin Roche + chemotherapy was higher in patients with recurrence within the field of prior radiation (16.7%) compared with patients with recurrence outside the field of prior radiation (3.6%). The corresponding frequencies in the control group receiving chemotherapy alone were 1.1% vs. 0.8%, respectively. Patients who develop GI-vaginal fistulae may also have bowel obstructions and require surgical intervention as well as diverting ostomies.
Non-GI Fistulae (see Precautions, General): Avastin Roche use has been associated with serious cases of fistulae including reactions resulting in death.
From a clinical trial in patients with persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer (GOG-240), 1.8% of Avastin Roche-treated patients and 1.4% of control patients were reported to have had non-gastrointestinal vaginal, vesical, or female genital tract fistulae.
Uncommon (≥0.1% to <1%) reports of fistulae that involve areas of the body other than the gastrointestinal tract (e.g. bronchopleural and biliary fistulae) were observed across various indications. Fistulae have also been reported in post-marketing experience.
Reactions were reported at various time points during treatment ranging from one week to greater than 1 year from initiation of Avastin Roche, with most reactions occurring within the first 6 months of therapy.
Wound Healing (see Precautions, General): As Avastin Roche may adversely impact wound healing, patients who had major surgery within the last 28 days were excluded from participation in phase III clinical trials.
In clinical trials of metastatic carcinoma of the colon or rectum, there was no increased risk of post-operative bleeding or wound healing complications observed in patients who underwent major surgery 28-60 days prior to starting Avastin Roche. An increased incidence of post-operative bleeding or wound healing complication occurring within 60 days of major surgery was observed if the patient was being treated with Avastin Roche at the time of surgery. The incidence varied between 10% (4/40) and 20% (3/15).
Serious wound healing complications, including anastomotic complications, have been reported, some of which had a fatal outcome.
In locally recurrent and metastatic breast cancer trials, Grade 3-5 wound healing complications were observed in up to 1.1% of patients receiving Avastin Roche compared with up to 0.9% of patients in the control arms (NCI-CTCAE v.3).
In clinical trials of ovarian cancer, Grade 3-5 wound healing complications were observed in up to 1.2% of patients in the bevacizumab arm versus 0.1% in the control arm (NCI-CTCAE v.3).
In the study of patients with relapsed glioblastoma (study AVF3708g), the incidence of post-operative wound healing complications (craniotomy site wound dehiscence and cerebrospinal fluid leak) was 3.6% in patients treated with single-agent Avastin Roche and 1.3% in patients treated with Avastin Roche plus irinotecan.
Hypertension (see Precautions, General): In clinical trials, with the exception of study JO25567, the overall incidence of hypertension (all Grades) ranged up to 42.1% in the Avastin Roche arms compared with up to 14% in the control arms . The overall incidence of NCI-CTC Grade 3 and 4 hypertension in patients receiving Avastin Roche ranged from 0.4% to 17.9%. Grade 4 hypertension (hypertensive crisis) occurred in up to 1.0% of patients treated with Avastin Roche and chemotherapy compared to up to 0.2% of patients treated with the same chemotherapy alone.
In study JO25567, all grade hypertension was observed in 77.3% of the patients who received Avastin in combination with erlotinib as first-line treatment for non-squamous NSCLC with EGFR activating mutations, compared to 14.3% of patients treated with erlotinib alone. Grade 3 hypertension was 60.0% in patients treated with Avastin in combination with erlotinib compared to 11.7% in patients treated with erlotinib alone. There were no grade 4 or 5 hypertension events.
Hypertension was generally adequately controlled with oral anti-hypertensives such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, diuretics and calcium-channel blockers. It rarely resulted in discontinuation of Avastin Roche treatment or hospitalisation.
Very rare cases of hypertensive encephalopathy have been reported, some of which were fatal.
The risk of Avastin Roche-associated hypertension did not correlate with the patients' baseline characteristics, underlying disease or concomitant therapy.
Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (see Precautions, General): There have been rare reports of Avastin Roche-treated patients developing signs and symptoms that are consistent with PRES, a rare neurological disorder. Presentation may include seizures, headache, altered mental status, visual disturbance, or cortical blindness, with or without associated hypertension. The clinical presentation of PRES is often nonspecific, and therefore the diagnosis of PRES requires confirmation by brain imaging, preferably MRI.
In patients developing PRES, early recognition of symptoms with prompt treatment of specific symptoms including control of hypertension (if associated with severe uncontrolled hypertension) is recommended in addition to discontinuation of bevacizumab therapy.
Symptoms usually resolve or improve within days after treatment discontinuation, although some patients have experienced some neurologic sequelae. The safety of reinitiating Avastin Roche therapy in patients previously experiencing PRES is not known.
Across clinical trials, 8 cases of PRES have been reported. Two of the eight cases did not have radiological confirmation via MRI.
Proteinuria (see Precautions, General): In clinical trials, proteinuria has been reported within the range of 0.7% to 54.7% of patients receiving Avastin Roche.
Proteinuria ranged in severity from clinically asymptomatic, transient, trace proteinuria to nephrotic syndrome, with the great majority as Grade 1 proteinuria (NCI-CTCAE v.3). Grade 3 proteinuria was reported in up to 8.1% of treated patients. Grade 4 proteinuria (nephrotic syndrome) was seen in up to 1.4% of treated patients. Testing for proteinuria is recommended prior to start of Avastin Roche therapy. In most clinical trials urine protein levels of ≥2g/24 hrs led to the holding of Avastin Roche until recovery to <2g/24 hrs.
Haemorrhage (see Precautions, General): In clinical trials across all indications the overall incidence of NCI-CTCAE v.3 Grade 3-5 bleeding reactions ranged from 0.4% to 6.9% in Avastin Roche treated patients, compared with up to 4.5% of patients in the chemotherapy control group.
From a clinical trial in patients with persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer (study GOG-0240), grade 3-5 bleeding reactions have been reported in up to 8.3% of patients treated with Avastin Roche in combination with paclitaxel and topotecan compared with up to 4.6% of patients treated with paclitaxel and topotecan.
The haemorrhagic reactions that have been observed in clinical trials were predominantly tumour-associated haemorrhage (see as follows) and minor mucocutaneous haemorrhage (e.g. epistaxis).
Tumour-associated Haemorrhage (see Precautions, General): Major or massive pulmonary haemorrhage/haemoptysis has been observed primarily in trials in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Possible risk factors include squamous cell histology, treatment with antirheumatic/anti-inflammatory substances, treatment with anticoagulants, prior radiotherapy, Avastin Roche therapy, previous medical history of atherosclerosis, central tumour location and cavitation of tumours prior to or during therapy. The only variables that showed statistically significant correlations with bleeding were Avastin Roche therapy and squamous cell histology. Patients with NSCLC of known squamous cell histology or mixed cell type with predominant squamous cell histology were excluded from subsequent phase III trials, while patients with unknown tumour histology were included.
In patients with NSCLC excluding predominant squamous histology, all Grade reactions were seen with a frequency of up to 9% when treated with Avastin Roche plus chemotherapy compared with up to 5% in the patients treated with chemotherapy alone. Grade 3-5 reactions have been observed in up to 2.3% of patients treated with Avastin Roche plus chemotherapy as compared with <1% with chemotherapy alone (NCI-CTCAE v.3). Major or massive pulmonary haemorrhage/haemoptysis can occur suddenly and up to two thirds of the serious pulmonary haemorrhages resulted in a fatal outcome.
Gastrointestinal haemorrhages, including rectal bleeding and melaena have been reported in colorectal cancer patients, and have been assessed as tumour-associated haemorrhages.
Tumour-associated haemorrhage was also seen rarely in other tumour types and locations, including cases of central nervous system (CNS) bleeding in patients with CNS metastases (see Precautions, General).
The incidence of CNS bleeding in patients with untreated CNS metastases receiving bevacizumab has not been prospectively evaluated in randomised clinical trials. In an exploratory retrospective analysis of data from 13 completed randomised trials in patients with various tumour types, 3 patients out of 91 (3.3%) with brain metastases experienced CNS bleeding (all Grade 4) when treated with bevacizumab, compared to 1 case (Grade 5) out of 96 patients (1%) that were not exposed to bevacizumab. In two subsequent studies in patients with treated brain metastases (which included around 800 patients), one case of Grade 2 CNS haemorrhage was reported in 83 subjects treated with bevacizumab (1.2%) at the time of interim safety analysis (NCI-CTCAE v.3).
Intracranial haemorrhage can occur in patients with relapsed glioblastoma. In study AVF3708g, CNS haemorrhage was reported in 2.4% (2/84) of patients in the Avastin Roche alone arm (Grade 1); and in 3.8% (3/79) of patients treated with Avastin Roche and irinotecan (Grades 1, 2 and 4).
Across all clinical trials, mucocutaneous haemorrhage has been seen in up to 50% of Avastin Roche-treated patients. These were most commonly NCI-CTCAE v.3 Grade 1 epistaxis that lasted less than 5 minutes, resolved without medical intervention and did not require any changes in the Avastin Roche treatment regimen. Clinical safety data suggest that the incidence of minor mucocutaneous haemorrhage (e.g. epistaxis) may be dose-dependent.
There have also been less common reactions of minor mucocutaneous haemorrhage in other locations, such as gingival bleeding or vaginal bleeding.
Thromboembolism (see Precautions, General): Arterial Thromboembolism: An increased incidence of arterial thromboembolic reactions was observed in patients treated with Avastin Roche across indications, including cerebrovascular accidents, myocardial infarction, transient ischaemic attacks, and other arterial thromboembolic reactions.
In clinical trials, the overall incidence of arterial thromboembolic reactions ranged up to 3.8% in the Avastin Roche containing arms compared with up to 2.1% in the chemotherapy control arms. Fatal outcome was reported in 0.8% of patients receiving Avastin Roche compared to 0.5% in patients receiving chemotherapy alone. Cerebrovascular accidents (including transient ischaemic attacks) were reported in up to 2.7% of patients treated with Avastin Roche in combination with chemotherapy compared to up to 0.5% of patients treated with chemotherapy alone. Myocardial infarction was reported in up to 1.4% of patients treated with Avastin Roche in combination with chemotherapy compared to up to 0.7% of patients treated with chemotherapy alone.
In one clinical trial evaluating Avastin Roche in combination with 5-fluorouracil/folinic acid, AVF2192g, patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who were not candidates for treatment with irinotecan were included. In this trial arterial thromboembolic reactions were observed in 11% (11/100) of patients compared to 5.8% (6/104) in the chemotherapy control group.
Venous Thromboembolism: The incidence of venous thromboembolic reactions in clinical trials was similar in patients receiving Avastin Roche in combination with chemotherapy compared to those receiving the control chemotherapy alone. Venous thromboembolic reactions include deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and thrombophlebitis.
In clinical trials across indications, the overall incidence of venous thromboembolic reactions ranged from 2.8% to 17.3% of Avastin Roche-treated patients compared with 3.2% to 15.6% in the control arms.
Grade 3-5 (NCI-CTCAE v.3) venous thromboembolic reactions have been reported in up to 7.8% of patients treated with chemotherapy plus bevacizumab compared with up to 4.9% in patients treated with chemotherapy alone (across indications, excluding persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer).
From a clinical trial in patients with persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer (study GOG-0240), grade 3-5 venous thromboembolic events have been reported in up to 15.6% of patients treated with Avastin Roche in combination with paclitaxel and cisplatin compared with up to 7.0% of patients treated with paclitaxel and cisplatin.
Patients who have experienced a venous thromboembolic reaction may be at higher risk for a recurrence if they receive Avastin Roche in combination with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone.
Congestive Heart Failure (CHF): In clinical trials with Avastin Roche, congestive heart failure (CHF) was observed in all cancer indications studied to date, but occurred predominantly in patients with metastatic breast cancer. In four phase III trials (AVF2119g, E2100, BO17708 and AVF3694g) in patients with metastatic breast cancer CHF Grade 3 (NCI-CTCAE v.3) or higher was reported in up to 3.5% of patients treated with Avastin Roche in combination with chemotherapy compared with up to 0.9% in the control arms. For patients in study AVF3694g who received anthracyclines concomitantly with bevacizumab, the incidences of Grade 3 or higher CHF for the respective bevacizumab and control arms were similar to those in the other studies in metastatic breast cancer: 2.9% in the anthracycline + bevacizumab arm and 0% in the anthracycline + placebo arm. In addition, in study AVF3694g the incidences of all Grade CHF were similar between the anthracycline + Avastin Roche (6.2%) and the anthracycline + placebo arms (6.0%).
Most patients who developed CHF during mBC trials showed improved symptoms and/or left ventricular function following appropriate medical therapy.
In most clinical trials of Avastin Roche, patients with pre-existing CHF of NYHA (New York Heart Association) II-IV were excluded, therefore, no information is available on the risk of CHF in this population.
Prior anthracyclines exposure and/or prior radiation to the chest wall may be possible risk factors for the development of CHF.
An increased incidence of CHF has been observed in a clinical trial of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma when receiving bevacizumab with a cumulative doxorubicin dose greater than 300 mg/m². This phase III clinical trial compared rituximab/cyclophosphamide/ doxorubicin/vincristine/prednisone (R-CHOP) plus bevacizumab to R-CHOP without bevacizumab. While the incidence of CHF was, in both arms, above that previously observed for doxorubicin therapy, the rate was higher in the R-CHOP plus bevacizumab arm. These results suggest that close clinical observation with appropriate cardiac assessments should be considered for patients exposed to cumulative doxorubicin doses greater than 300 mg/m² when combined with bevacizumab.
Hypersensitivity Reactions/Infusion Reactions (see Precautions, General and Post Marketing Experience as follows): In some clinical trials anaphylactic and anaphylactoid-type reactions were reported more frequently in patients receiving Avastin Roche in combination with chemotherapy than with chemotherapy alone. The incidence of these reactions in some clinical trials of Avastin Roche is common (up to 5% in bevacizumab-treated patients).
Infections: From a clinical trial in patients with persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer (study GOG-0240), grade 3-5 infections have been reported in up to 24% of patients treated with Avastin Roche in combination with paclitaxel and topotecan compared with up to 13% of patients treated with paclitaxel and topotecan.
Ovarian Failure/Fertility (see Precautions, General and Fertility under Use in Pregnancy & Lactation): In NSABP C-08, a phase III trial of Avastin Roche in adjuvant treatment of patients with colon cancer, the incidence of new cases of ovarian failure, defined as amenorrhoea lasting 3 or more months, FSH level ≥30 mIU/mL and a negative serum β-HCG pregnancy test, has been evaluated in 295 premenopausal women. New cases of ovarian failure were reported in 2.6% patients in the mFOLFOX-6 group compared to 39% in the mFOLFOX-6 + bevacizumab group. After discontinuation of bevacizumab treatment, ovarian function recovered in 86.2% of these evaluable women. Long term effects of the treatment with bevacizumab on fertility are unknown.
Laboratory Abnormalities: Decreased neutrophil count, decreased white blood cell count and presence of urine protein may be associated with Avastin Roche treatment.
Across clinical trials, the following Grade 3 and 4 (NCI-CTCAE v.3) laboratory abnormalities occurred in patients treated with Avastin Roche with at least a 2% difference compared to the corresponding control groups: hyperglycaemia, decreased haemoglobin, hypokalaemia, hyponatraemia, decreased white blood cell count, increased international normalised ratio (INR).
Clinical trials have shown that transient increases in serum creatinine (ranging between 1.5-1.9 times baseline level), both with and without proteinuria, are associated with the use of Avastin Roche. The observed increase in serum creatinine was not associated with a higher incidence of clinical manifestations of renal impairment in patients treated with Avastin Roche.
Other special populations: Elderly Patients: In randomised clinical trials, age >65 years was associated with an increased risk of developing arterial thromboembolic reactions, including cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs), transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs) and myocardial infarctions (MIs). Other reactions with a higher frequency seen in patients over 65 were Grade 3-4 leucopenia and thrombocytopenia (NCI-CTCAE v.3); and all Grade neutropenia, diarrhoea, nausea, headache and fatigue as compared to those aged ≤65 years when treated with Avastin Roche (see Precautions, General and Thromboembolism). In one clinical trial, the incidence of hypertension of grade ≥3 was two fold higher in patients aged >65 years than in the younger age group (<65 years). In a study of platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer patients, alopecia, mucosal inflammation, peripheral sensory neuropathy, proteinuria and hypertension were also reported and occurred at a rate at least 5% higher in the CT + BV arm for bevacizumab-treated patients ≥65 years of age compared with bevacizumab-treated patients aged <65 years.
No increase in the incidence of other reactions, including gastrointestinal perforation, wound healing complications, congestive heart failure, and haemorrhage was observed in elderly patients (>65 years) receiving Avastin Roche as compared to those aged ≤65 years treated with Avastin Roche.
Paediatric Population: The safety of Avastin Roche in children and adolescents has not been established. Avastin Roche is not approved for use in patients under the age of 18 years. In published literature reports, cases of non-mandibular osteonecrosis have been observed in patients under the age of 18 years treated with Avastin Roche.
Post-Marketing Experience: See Table 25.

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Effect of antineoplastic agents on bevacizumab pharmacokinetics: No clinically relevant interaction of co-administered chemotherapy on bevacizumab pharmacokinetics was observed based on the results of population pharmacokinetic analyses. There were neither statistically significant nor clinically relevant differences in bevacizumab clearance in patients receiving Avastin Roche monotherapy compared to patients receiving Avastin Roche in combination with interferon alfa-2a, erlotinib or chemotherapies (IFL, 5-FU/LV, carboplatin/paclitaxel, capecitabine, doxorubicin or cisplatin/gemcitabine).
Effect of bevacizumab on the pharmacokinetics of other antineoplastic agents: No clinically relevant interaction of bevacizumab was observed on the pharmacokinetics of co-administered interferon alpha 2a, erlotinib (and its active metabolite OSI-420), or the chemotherapies irinotecan (and its active metabolite SN38), capecitabine, oxaliplatin (as determined by measurement of free and total platinum), and cisplatin. Conclusions on the impact of bevacizumab on gemcitabine pharmacokinetics cannot be drawn.
Combination of bevacizumab and sunitinib malate: In two clinical trials of metastatic renal cell carcinoma, microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia (MAHA) was reported in 7 of 19 patients treated with bevacizumab (10 mg/kg every two weeks) and sunitinib malate (50 mg daily) combination.
MAHA is a haemolytic disorder which can present with red cell fragmentation, anaemia, and thrombocytopenia. In addition, hypertension (including hypertensive crisis), elevated creatinine, and neurological symptoms were observed in some of these patients. All of these findings were reversible upon discontinuation of bevacizumab and sunitinib malate (see Hypertension, Proteinuria, PRES in Precautions, General).
Combination with platinum- or taxane-based therapies (see Precautions, General and Adverse Reactions): Increased rates of severe neutropenia, febrile neutropenia, or infection with or without severe neutropenia (including some fatalities) have been observed mainly in patients treated with platinum- or taxane-based therapies in the treatment of NSCLC and mBC.
Radiotherapy: The safety and efficacy of concomitant administration of radiotherapy and Avastin Roche has not been established.
EGFR monoclonal antibodies in combination with bevacizumab chemotherapy regimens: No interaction studies have been performed. EGFR monoclonal antibodies should not be administered for the treatment of mCRC in combination with bevacizumab-containing chemotherapy. Results from the randomised phase III studies, PACCE and CAIRO-2, in patients with mCRC suggest that the use of anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies panitumumab and cetuximab, respectively, in combination with bevacizumab plus chemotherapy, is associated with decreased PFS and/or OS, and with increased toxicity compared with bevacizumab plus chemotherapy alone.

Special Instructions for Use, Handling and Disposal: Avastin Roche infusions should not be administered or mixed with dextrose or glucose solutions (see Incompatibilities as follows).
Do not administer as an intravenous push or bolus.
Avastin Roche should be prepared by a healthcare professional using aseptic technique.
Withdraw the necessary amount of bevacizumab and dilute to the required administration volume with 0.9% sodium chloride solution. The concentration of the final bevacizumab solution should be kept within the range of 1.4-16.5 mg/ml.
Discard any unused portion left in a vial, as the product contains no preservatives. Parenteral drug products should be inspected visually for particulate matter and discoloration prior to administration.
Avastin Roche is not formulated for intravitreal use.
Incompatibilities: No incompatibilities between Avastin Roche and polyvinyl chloride or polyolefin bags have been observed. A concentration-dependent degradation profile of Avastin Roche was observed when diluted with dextrose solutions (5%).
Disposal of unused/expired medicines: The release of pharmaceuticals in the environment should be minimised. Medicines should not be disposed of via wastewater and disposal through household waste should be avoided.

Store vials in a refrigerator at 2°C-8°C.
Protect from light.
Do not freeze. Do not shake.
Avastin Roche does not contain any antimicrobial preservative; therefore, care must be taken to ensure the sterility of the prepared solution.
Chemical and physical in-use stability has been demonstrated for 48 hours at 2°C to 30°C in 0.9% sodium chloride solution. From a microbiological point of view, the product should be used immediately. If not used immediately, in-use storage times and conditions are the responsibility of the user and would normally not be longer than 24 hours at 2°C to 8°C, unless dilution has taken place in controlled and validated aseptic conditions.

Targeted Cancer Therapy

L01FG01 - bevacizumab ; Belongs to the class of VEGF/VEGFR (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) inhibitors. Used in the treatment of cancer.

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