Practical management of NSCLC patients with long-term bevacizumab treatment: a report of four cases.

INTRODUCTION: Previous research showed that the addition of bevacizumab (a monoclonal antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF]) to chemotherapy resulted in a significant efficacy benefit in the treatment of selected patients with advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the occurrence and management of adverse events (AEs) during long-term maintenance treatment with bevacizumab is not well known.
METHODS: This report presents a descriptive analysis, including the management of AEs, of four patients with advanced NSCLC, who received a relatively long period of bevacizumab maintenance treatment.
RESULTS: In patient 1, a 72-year-old retired man with stage cT2N2M1b NSCLC, the only AE related to bevacizumab was a grade 1 rhinorrhea. Treatment resulted in a stable disease, with duration of response of 38 months. Patient 2 had NSCLC stage cT4N3M1b and developed a cavitation and infection after the first cycle of chemotherapy and bevacizumab, which caused a temporary decrease of her quality of life. Bevacizumab therapy resulted in a partial response, with duration of response of 15 months. A 52-year-old female (patient 3) with stage T2bN2M1a NSCLC is currently under treatment and has so far received 42 cycles of maintenance bevacizumab, with stabilized response (duration of response of 29 months) and no noteworthy AEs. The last patient is a 74-year-old male farmer with NSCLC T1N0M1, whose response has lasted for more than 3 years, with until now, no AEs.
CONCLUSION: Our retrospective findings of these four patients show the long-term efficacy and safety of bevacizumab treatment in a real-life setting.