Application of Bevacizumab beyond Progressive Disease in Patients with Lung Cancer Recurrence after Surgery

BACKGROUND: The benefits of continuing bevacizumab (BEV) beyond progressive disease (PD) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remain unclear. We present our experience of continuing chemotherapy with BEV in patients with recurrent NSCLC after surgery. PATIENTS: From January 2010 to December 2016, chemotherapy with BEV was continued beyond PD in 20 patients. These patients included 10 men and 10 women, and their mean age at surgery was 71±10 years. Recurrence was observed at 630±460 days after surgery. RESULTS: The average number of protocols with BEV was 3±1 (1-6). The presented side effects were acceptable. Eight patients died of cancer. The 5-year survival rates after surgery, recurrence, and initiation of BEV were 78.8%, 50.1%, and 34.3%, respectively, and the median survival times were 2,465, 2,017, and 1,120 days, respectively. CONCLUSION: The majority of patients with operable NSCLC had a good performance status. We could detect recurrence early on, before the symptoms appeared, by regular examination. Therefore, these patients had an advantage in that more chemotherapeutic regimens could be administered to them and their prognosis could be improved by the continuation of BEV beyond over PD.