
Around 1 in 5 people diagnosed with cancer in the UK take part in a clinical trial.
This trial looked at the drugs erlotinib and bevacizumab for non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
It was for people with NSCLC that had spread and had changes to genes affecting a protein called .
Doctors often treat non small cell lung cancer that has spread outside the lung (advanced lung cancer) with chemotherapy.
Some cancer cells have specific gene changes () that affect a protein called EGFR. In this case doctors treat advanced NSCLC with a targeted drug called erlotinib (Tarceva).
In this trial, researchers looked at combining erlotinib with another drug called bevacizumab (Avastin).
Bevacizumab is another targeted drug that works in a different way to erlotinib. It stops the cancer forming new blood vessels that would supply the cancer with oxygen and food.
The researchers looked at how these 2 treatments worked in people with cancers that have a particular change in the protein EGFR. This is called T790M.
The aims of the trial were to:
The trial team found that erlotinib and bevacizumab benefited people whose advanced non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has a change in the EGFR.
The team looked at the tissue samples of everyone and put them into 2 groups. They were
This was a phase 2 trial. Everyone had erlotinib and bevacizumab.
Of 109 people who took part:
The team looked at the results in the following way:
Response to treatment
The team looked at the number of people whose cancer had responded to treatment.
Complete response
This is the number of people who had no sign of their cancer:
Partial response
This is the number of people whose cancer had shrunk:
Stable disease
This is the number of people whose cancer had stayed the same:
For 4 people they couldn’t assess their response to treatment. This was because their cancer was only measured once. So an actual assessment of whether the cancer had changed couldn’t be made.
Progression free survival
This is the average length of time after treatment that their cancer had not got worse.
The team found that:
Side effects
The most common side effects included:
Conclusion
The trial team concluded the BELIEF trial provides further proof that erlotinib combined with bevacizumab works for people with NSCLC that has an EFGR change.
Other trials are ongoing looking at targeted drugs with bevacizumab for advanced NSCLC that has EGFR and the T790M change.
We have based this summary on information from the research team. The information they sent us has been reviewed by independent specialists () and published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team who did the research. We have not analysed the data ourselves.
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Dr Sanjay Popat
European Thoracic Oncology Platform (ETOP)
Roche
If you have questions about the trial please contact our cancer information nurses
Freephone 0808 800 4040
Around 1 in 5 people diagnosed with cancer in the UK take part in a clinical trial.