How effective is Avastin in treating metastatic colorectal cancer?
Hurwitz: For patients with newly diagnosed metastatic colorectal cancer, [Avastin] represents a fairly big advance. This drug is able to prolong survival by about five months from a baseline median survival of 15.6 months for [patients who just received standard treatment] to 20.3 months for [those getting standard treatment plus Avastin]. This correlates with increasing survival by about one third. If a patient has 15 months’ average life expectancy without this drug, and [Avastin] adds another five more months of good quality of life, this may be clinically relevant. This is as large a benefit as we’ve seen with any other treatment for colorectal cancer. We still have far to go and we need to do better, but the addition of [Avastin] is a solid first step. Medscape: What are the adverse effects of Avastin, and how does the safety profile compare with that of other available agents? Hurwitz: Compared with most chemotherapy, the safety profile of [Avastin] appears quite favorable. In ou
