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Monoclonal Antibody Infusion
Bevacizumab (Avastin®)
Bevacizumab is a specialized type of cancer drug known as a monoclonal antibody. This drug, which is administered by intravenous infusion, attaches to and neutralizes the angiogenesis-stimulating protein growth factor called VEGF. A major clinical trial of bevacizumab was performed in patients with advanced kidney cancer who had not received any prior therapy.4 In this study, the combination of bevacizumab and interferon doubled progression-free survival (10.2 months compared with 5.4 months) compared to patients who received either interferon alone or a placebo.4 Furthermore, almost three times as many patients who received the bevacizumab + interferon combination had their tumors shrink compared to those who received only interferon (31% compared with 12%). Based on these data, the FDA approved the use of bevacizumab in combination with interferon to treat metastatic kidney cancer.


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Last updated May 29, 2011