
Last year in the UK over 60,000 cancer patients enrolled on clinical trials aimed at improving cancer treatments and making them available to all.
Please note - this trial is no longer recruiting patients. We hope to add results when they are available.
This trial is looking at the effect of 2 drugs called bevacizumab and pazopanib. It is for people who have kidney cancer that has got worse despite having other treatment.
The most common type of kidney cancer in adults is renal cell cancer. You may have surgery to remove renal cell cancer. But sometimes it is not possible to remove it with surgery, or the cancer spreads to another part of the body.
In this situation, doctors often use biological therapy including drugs such as bevacizumab and pazopanib. Both of these drugs can stop cancer growing its own blood supply by blocking a body protein called human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).
This type of treatment helps some people, but not others. In this study, doctors want to learn more about what happens to these drugs in your body to see why this is. This is called the pharmacodynamics of the drugs.
The people taking part will have tests to measure the effect of the 2 drugs. The researchers will also collect blood and tissue samples. They use these samples to look for substances that may tell them how well the drugs are working. These are called biomarkers.
You can enter this trial if you
You cannot enter this trial if you
The study will recruit at least 12 people who have kidney cancer that has got worse despite having other types of treatment. It is in 2 parts. In part 1, everybody will have bevacizumab.
You have bevacizumab through a drip into a vein every 2 weeks out of 3 for 6 weeks all together.
Two weeks later, you see the study team and they decide if you are likely to benefit from having more treatment that aims to block the cancer’s blood supply. They will also check that you are able to swallow and absorb tablets.
If they think it is appropriate, you go into part 2 of the study. In part 2, you take pazopanib tablets. Because the bevacizumab stays in your bloodstream for several months, you start with a low dose of pazopanib. The dose will be increased slowly as the bevacizumab is cleared from your body.
At this point, you will be put into 1 of 2 treatment groups. Neither you nor your doctor can decide which group you are in. This is called randomisation.
Each 3 week period is called a cycle of treatment. At the end of each treatment cycle, your pazopanib dose will be increased. The dose can be increased up to 5 times. This is called the dose escalation phase. If you have bad side effects, the study doctor may reduce the dose or delay increasing it.
After 5 dose increases, you go into the maintenance phase. During the maintenance phase, you have a constant dose of pazopanib. As long as you don’t have bad side effects, you can carry on taking it for as long as it helps you.
You will see the study doctors and have a number of tests before you start treatment. The tests include
You will also have a taken during an ultrasound scan or a CT scan. After the biopsy, you will need to stay in hospital for at least 6 hours.
In the first 8 weeks of treatment, you go to hospital at least 8 times. As well as seeing the study team and having bevacizumab, you have a number of blood tests and scans. You also have another biopsy taken during the second week of treatment.
During the dose escalation phase, you go to hospital and have blood tests once a week. You see the study doctor every 3 weeks and you have a CT scan in the 5th cycle of treatment.
During the maintenance phase, you see the study doctor and have a blood test every 3 weeks. And you have a CT scan every 3 months.
The most common side effects of bevacizumab include
Pazopanib is still quite a new drug and there may be side effects we don’t know about yet. The known side effects include
The side effects may be worse in the first few weeks of treatment, but the study doctor will try to limit them by starting with a low dose of pazopanib and increasing it gradually.
There is more information about bevacizumab and pazopanib on CancerHelp UK.
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Professor Tim Eisen
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC)
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
If you have questions about the trial please contact our cancer information nurses
Freephone 0808 800 4040
Last year in the UK over 60,000 cancer patients enrolled on clinical trials aimed at improving cancer treatments and making them available to all.