Bevacizumab in Patients with Nonsquamous Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer and Asymptomatic, Untreated Brain Metastases (BRAIN): A Nonrandomized, Phase II Study

Purpose: The phase II prospective, noncomparative BRAIN study (NCT00800202) investigated efficacy and safety of bevacizumab in chemotherapy-naive or pretreated patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and asymptomatic untreated brain metastases to provide data in this previously unexplored subgroup. Experimental Design: Patients with stage IV nonsquamous NSCLC, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0–1, and untreated, asymptomatic brain metastases received first-line bevacizumab (15 mg/kg) plus carboplatin (area under the curve ×6) and paclitaxel (200 mg/m 2 ) every 3 weeks (B + CP), or second-line bevacizumab plus erlotinib (150 mg/d; B + E). Six-month progression-free survival (PFS) was the primary endpoint. The trial could be stopped if there were more than three (B + CP) or more than two (B + E) intracranial hemorrhages. Findings: In first-line B + CP cohort ( n = 67), 6-month PFS rate was 56.5% with a median PFS of 6.7 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 5.7–7.1] and median overall survival (OS) of 16.0 months. Investigator-assessed overall response rate (ORR) was 62.7%: 61.2% in intracranial lesions and 64.2% in extracranial lesions. Because of low enrolment ( n = 24 ), efficacy results for the second-line B + E cohort were exploratory only; 6-month PFS rate was 57.2%, median PFS was 6.3 months (95% CI, 3.0–8.4), median OS was 12.0 months, and ORR was 12.5%. Adverse events were comparable with previous trials of bevacizumab. One grade 1 intracranial hemorrhage occurred and resolved without sequelae. Conclusion: The BRAIN study demonstrates encouraging efficacy and acceptable safety of bevacizumab with first-line paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with NSCLC and asymptomatic, untreated brain metastases. Clin Cancer Res; 1–8. ©2015 AACR.