Bevacizumab in Treating Patients Who Have Undergone First-Line Therapy for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Bevacizumab Maintenance Versus no Maintenance After Stop of First-line Chemotherapy in Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer. A Randomized Multicenter Phase III Non-inferiority Trial

RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies, such as bevacizumab, can block tumor growth in different ways. Some block the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Others find tumor cells and help kill them or carry tumor-killing substances to them. Bevacizumab may also stop the growth of tumor cells by blocking blood flow to the tumor. It is not yet known whether giving bevacizumab as maintenance therapy is more effective than observation in treating patients with colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying bevacizumab to see how well it works in treating patients who have undergone first-line therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Colorectal Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Biological: bevacizumab; Other: no maintenance

Detailed Description

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

• To demonstrate that time to progression (TTP) without further treatment is not inferior to TTP with maintenance therapy comprising bevacizumab in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and stable or responding disease after completion of standard first-line chemotherapy/bevacizumab treatment.

Secondary

• To evaluate the safety of bevacizumab maintenance therapy in these patients.
• To assess the long-term cost implications of prolonged treatment with bevacizumab.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to best response during first-line chemotherapy/bevacizumab treatment (complete response and partial response vs stable disease), duration of first-line treatment (16-20 weeks vs 21-24 weeks), type of chemotherapy used during first-line treatment (irinotecan and fluoropyrimidine vs oxaliplatin and fluoropyrimidine vs fluoropyrimidine monotherapy), disease burden (one organ with metastasis vs more than one organ with metastasis), and by participating center.

• Arm I (bevacizumab maintenance therapy): Patients receive bevacizumab IV over 30 minutes on day 1. Treatment repeats every 21 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
• Arm II (no maintenance therapy): Patients receive no further treatment; they are monitored for disease progression.

After completion of study therapy or documentation of disease progression, patients are followed every 3 months for 1 year and then every 6 months for up to 5 years.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 265
• Phase: Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Switzerland
  • Aarau, Switzerland, CH-5001
    • Hirslanden Klinik Aarau
  • Aarau, Switzerland, CH-5000
    • Kantonsspital Aarau
  • Baden, Switzerland, CH-5404
    • Kantonsspital Baden
  • Basel, Switzerland, CH-4031
    • Universitaetsspital-Basel
  • Basel, Switzerland, CH-4016
    • St. Claraspital AG
  • Bellinzona, Switzerland, 6500
    • Istituto Oncologico della Svizzera Italiana - Ospedale San Giovanni
  • Bern, Switzerland, CH-3010
    • Inselspital, Bern
  • Biel, Switzerland, CH-2501
    • Spitalzentrum Biel
  • Bruderholz, Switzerland, CH-4101
    • Kantonsspital Bruderholz
  • Bulach, Switzerland, CH-8180
    • Spital Buelach
  • Cham, Switzerland, CH-6330
    • AndreasKlinik Cham Zug
  • Chur, Switzerland, CH-7000
    • Kantonsspital Graubuenden
  • Fribourg, Switzerland, 1708
    • Hôpital Fribourgeois
  • Geneva, Switzerland, CH-1211
    • Hôpital Cantonal Universitaire de Genève
  • Lausanne, Switzerland, CH-1011
    • Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois
  • Liestal, Switzerland, CH-4410
    • Kantonsspital Liestal
  • Lugano, Switzerland, CH-6900
    • Istituto Oncologico Della Svizzera Italiana
  • Luzerne, Switzerland, CH-6000
    • Kantonsspital Luzern
  • Männedorf, Switzerland, 8708
    • Onkologie Zentrum am Spital Maennedorf
  • Olten, Switzerland, CH-4600
    • Kantonsspital Olten
  • Sion, Switzerland, CH -1951
    • Hopital Regional de Sion-Herens-Conthey
  • St. Gallen, Switzerland, CH-9007
    • Kantonsspital - St. Gallen
  • Thun, Switzerland, 3600
    • Regionalspital
  • Uster, Switzerland, 8610
    • Spital Uster
  • Winterthur, Switzerland, CH-8400
    • Kantonsspital Winterthur
  • Zurich, Switzerland, CH-8091
    • Universitaetsspital Zuerich
  • Zurich, Switzerland, 8038
    • Onkozentrum Klinik im Park
  • Zurich, Switzerland, CH-8008
    • Klinik Hirslanden
  • Zurich, Switzerland, CH-8037
    • Stadtspital Waid

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically or cytologically confirmed metastatic colorectal cancer

• Received prior first-line chemotherapy with oral or intravenous fluoropyrimidine alone or in combination with irinotecan or oxaliplatin

  • Chemotherapy must have been given in combination with a standard dose of bevacizumab for 16-24 weeks as part of first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer
• Stable disease, partial response, or complete response after completion of first-line treatment as documented by abdominal and thoracic CT scan, MRI, or x-ray within the past 21 days

• No clinical symptoms or history of CNS metastases

  • No imaging required in asymptomatic patients

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• WHO performance status 0-1
• Serum creatinine < 2.0 mg/dL or 177 μmol/L
• Proteinuria < 2+ by urine dipstick OR urine protein ≤ 1 g by 24-hour urine collection
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 12 months after completion of study therapy
• Must have basic health insurance with a Swiss health insurance company
• Patients must be compliant and in geographic proximity to allow proper staging and follow-up

• No medical reason that prohibits further bevacizumab treatment, including any of the following:

  • Uncontrolled hypertension (systolic blood pressure [BP] > 150 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP > 100 mm Hg) or clinically significant (i.e., active) cardiovascular disease
  • Serious non-healing wound, active peptic ulcer, or non-healing bone fracture
  • History of abdominal fistula, gastrointestinal perforation, or intra-abdominal abscess within the past 6 months
  • History or evidence of inherited bleeding diathesis or coagulopathy with the risk of bleeding
• No serious underlying medical condition that, in the judgment of the investigator, could further impair the ability of the patient to participate in the trial (e.g., active autoimmune disease or uncontrolled diabetes)
• No psychiatric disorder that would preclude patient understanding of study-related topics or giving informed consent

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics
• At least 4 weeks since prior bevacizumab
• No prior anti-EGFR treatment (e.g., cetuximab) during first-line therapy
• No anticipation of concurrent major surgery (e.g., resection) or ablation of metastases
• No concurrent elective major surgery

• No concurrent daily aspirin exceeding 325 mg/day or clopidogrel exceeding 75 mg/day

  • Lower doses of the drugs noted above, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with activity on platelets and gastric mucosa, or dipyridamole are allowed if given at a stable dose for ≥ 2 weeks prior to study entry
• No other concurrent experimental drugs or anticancer therapy

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Arm A: Bevacizumab monotherapy; Bevacizumab maintenance monotherapy	Biological: bevacizumab; 7.5 mg/kg i.v. bevacizumab every 21 days until progression or unacceptable toxicity; Other Names: Avastin®
Other: Arm B: No maintenance; No antitumor treatment until progression	Other: no maintenance; No treatment until progression

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Time to progression (TTP)	TTP will be calculated from randomization until documented PD or death due to tumor.	From randomization until documented progressive disease or death due to tumor.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Overall survival (OS)	OS will be calculated from start of first-line treatment until death. Additionally, OS will be calculated from randomization until death.	OS will be calculated from start of first-line treatment until death. Additionally, OS will be calculated from randomization until death.
Progression-free survival (PFS)	PFS will be calculated from start of first-line treatment until documented PD or death, whichever occurs first. Additionally, PFS will be calculated from randomization until documented PD or death, whichever occurs first.	From start of first-line treatment until documented PD or death, whichever occurs first.
Adverse events (AE)	Predefined AEs and AEs ≥ grade 3 will be assessed according to NCI CTCAE v3.0.	Predefined AEs and AEs ≥ grade 3 will be assessed according to NCI CTCAE v3.0.
Long-term bevacizumab treatment costs	Costs of bevacizumab treatment, including additional treatments and/or hospitalisations related to bevacizumab, as well as other anticancer treatments and their related hospitalisations, will be estimated for the time period between randomization and the end of the follow-up phase (lasting maximal 5 years) from information collected on the CRFs during trial treatment and follow-up phase.	Estimated for the time period between randomization and the end of the follow-up phase (lasting maximal 5 years).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research
• Investigators: Study Chair: Dieter Koeberle, MD, St. Claraspital Basel; Study Chair: Peter Moosmann, MD, Kantonsspital Aarau

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Koeberle D, Betticher DC, von Moos R, Dietrich D, Brauchli P, Baertschi D, Matter K, Winterhalder R, Borner M, Anchisi S, Moosmann P, Kollar A, Saletti P, Roth A, Frueh M, Kueng M, Popescu RA, Schacher S, Hess V, Herrmann R. Bevacizumab continuation versus no continuation after first-line chemotherapy plus bevacizumab in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer: a randomized phase III non-inferiority trial (SAKK 41/06). Ann Oncol. 2015 Apr;26(4):709-714. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdv011. Epub 2015 Jan 20.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 26, 2007
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 21, 2013
• Study Completion (Actual): December 12, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 13, 2007
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 13, 2007
• First Posted (Estimate): October 16, 2007

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 20, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 18, 2020
• Last Verified: February 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: stage IV rectal cancer; stage IV colon cancer
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Digestive System Diseases; Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms; Digestive System Neoplasms; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Colonic Diseases; Intestinal Diseases; Intestinal Neoplasms; Rectal Diseases; Colorectal Neoplasms; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Antineoplastic Agents; Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological; Angiogenesis Inhibitors; Angiogenesis Modulating Agents; Growth Substances; Growth Inhibitors; Bevacizumab
• Other Study ID Numbers: SAKK 41/06; SWS-SAKK-41/06; EU-20762; CDR0000569866

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO