The European Commission (EU) has approved Roche'sAvastin (bevacizumab) in combination with standard chemotherapy (paclitaxel and cisplatin or, alternatively, paclitaxel and topotecan in patients who cannot receive platinum therapy) for the treatment of adult patients with persistent, recurrent or metastatic carcinoma of the cervix.

Unlike the majority of cancers, cervical cancer is most commonly diagnosed in younger women, between the ages of 35 and 44. Each day it is estimated that 90 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in Europe, and around 35 of these women will die from the disease. Avastin’s EU approval in persistent, recurrent or metastatic carcinoma of the cervix is an important development in a disease area where, until now, treatment options were limited to chemotherapy.

“We are pleased that women in Europe now have a much needed new treatment option that is proven to help them live longer lives compared to chemotherapy alone,” said Sandra Horning, M.D., chief medical officer and head of global product development. “Currently, fewer than one in six women with this disease are alive five years after diagnosis. Avastin’s approval is a welcome advance for women with persistent, recurrent or metastatic carcinoma of the cervix”.

The EU approval was based on the significant survival benefit in the pivotal GOG-0240 study, which showed that women who received Avastin plus chemotherapy had a statistically significant 26 per cent reduction in the risk of death, representing a median improvement in survival of nearly four months, compared to women who received chemotherapy alone (median overall survival: 16.8 months vs. 12.9 months; Hazard Ratio (HR)=0.74, p=0.0132).

Also based on the GOG-0240 data, Avastin in combination with paclitaxel and cisplatin or paclitaxel and topotecan chemotherapy was approved in the US in August 2014, in Switzerland in December 2014, and in six other countries worldwide, for the treatment of women with persistent, recurrent or metastatic carcinoma of the cervix.

GOG-0240 is an independent, National Cancer Institute (NCI)-sponsored study of the Gynecological Oncology Group (GOG) that assessed the efficacy and safety profile of Avastin plus chemotherapy (paclitaxel and cisplatin or paclitaxel and topotecan) in women with persistent, recurrent or metastatic carcinoma of the cervix.

Study data from 452 women showed: The study met its primary endpoint of improving overall survival (OS) with a statistically significant 26 per cent reduction in the risk of death, representing a median gain in survival of 3.9 months, compared with those who received chemotherapy alone (median overall survival: 16.8 months vs. 12.9 months; (HR)=0.74, p=0.0132); The study showed that women who received Avastin plus chemotherapy had a significantly higher rate of tumour shrinkage (objective response rate, ORR) compared with those who received chemotherapy alone (45 per cent [95% CI: 0.39%-0.52%] vs. 34 per cent [95% CI 0.28%-0.40%]);  Overall, the safety profile in the study was consistent with that seen in previous pivotal studies of Avastin across tumour types, except for an increase in gastrointestinal-vaginal fistulae observed in patients who received Avastin plus chemotherapy compared to those who received chemotherapy alone (8.3% vs. 0.9% respectively). All patients with gastrointestinal-vaginal fistulae after treatment with Avastin plus chemotherapy had a history of prior pelvic radiation.

It is estimated that over 33,000 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer in the EU this year and about 13,000 women will die from the disease. While the chances of survival are higher if the disease is caught early (at least nine out of 10 women survive for five years or longer following early diagnosis), the symptoms of early-stage cervical cancer can be easily missed, and many women are not diagnosed until their cancer has already progressed to an advanced stage. At this stage, the survival rates are reduced and fewer than one in six women survive for five years or longer.

With the initial approval in the United States for advanced colorectal cancer in 2004, Avastin became the first anti-angiogenic therapy made widely available for the treatment of patients with an advanced cancer.

Today, Avastin is continuing to transform cancer care through its proven survival benefit (overall survival and/or progression free survival) across several types of cancer. Avastin is approved in Europe for the treatment of advanced stages of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, kidney cancer, ovarian cancer, and now cervical cancer, and is available in the United States for the treatment of colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, kidney cancer, cervical cancer and platinum-resistant, recurrent ovarian cancer. In addition, Avastin is approved in the United States and over 60 other countries worldwide for the treatment of patients with progressive glioblastoma following prior therapy. Avastin is approved in Japan for the treatment of the advanced stages of colorectal, non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer and malignant glioma, including newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

Avastin has made anti-angiogenic therapy a fundamental pillar of cancer treatment today. Over 1.5 million patients have been treated with Avastin so far. A comprehensive clinical programme with more than 500 ongoing clinical trials is investigating the use of Avastin in over 50 tumour types.