Background/aim: First-line bevacizumab-based therapies have been shown to improve clinical outcomes in patients with non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We aimed to descriptively analyse patients with non-squamous NSCLC who received a long-term period of maintenance bevacizumab.
Patients and methods: This retrospective study included 104 patients who had already reached a progression-free survival (PFS) of at least 9 months.
Results: Median overall survival and PFS were 30.7 and 15.1 months, respectively. The overall response rate was 83 %. Weight loss ≤5 %, ECOG PS = 0, or low number of metastatic sites seem to be predictive factors of good evolution. The incidence of bevacizumab-related adverse events appeared to be similar as the previous studies.
Conclusion: Our findings show that there is a long-term survivor group whom the administration of bevacizumab resulted in a relevant prolongation of response without new safety signals. Due to the population heterogeneity, it was not possible to identify the standardised predictive factors.
Keywords: Bevacizumab; Bevacizumab maintenance therapy; First-line treatment; Non-squamous NSCLC; Observational study; Routine clinical practice setting.