Bevacizumab-Induced Arthralgia in Patients With Advanced Ovarian Cancer
Posted: Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Patients with advanced ovarian cancer who underwent first-line treatment with a combination of carboplatin, paclitaxel, and bevacizumab seem to experience a high incidence of arthralgia, according to a retrospective analysis published in the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer. However, Sandro Pignata, MD, PhD, of the Istituto Nazionale Tumori di Napoli, Italy, and colleagues explained that the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of this adverse event and the response by the immune system require further investigation.
“Chemotherapy with carboplatin, paclitaxel, and bevacizumab is the standard therapy for patients with advanced-stage ovarian cancer wild-type BRCA after primary surgery,” the investigators stated. “In our clinical practice since the introduction of bevacizumab, we have commonly observed the occurrence of arthralgia during therapy.”
This retrospective analysis aggregated data from 114 patients with advanced ovarian cancer who underwent first-line treatment with the combination of carboplatin, paclitaxel, and bevacizumab. A multivariate analysis, including toxicity as a time-dependent variable and stage, age, and residual disease after primary surgery, was performed to avoid possible treatment duration biases.
Arthralgia was observed in 41% of the study population. Of these patients, 70% experienced grade 1 arthralgia, and 30% experienced grade 2 arthralgia with limitation of daily activities. After the completion of bevacizumab therapy, toxicity persisted in 36% of patients. The median progression-free survival times for patients with and without arthralgia were 29 and 18 months, respectively (P = .03); however, this association was not statistically significant in the multivariate analysis (P = .08).
Disclosure: The study authors reported no conflicts of interest.
