Efficacy and safety of bevacizumab in neoadjuvant and concurrent chemoradiotherapy for refractory cervical cancer patients

Abstract

A platinum-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) is the standard treatment for refractory cervical cancer (CC). However, the recurrence of disease and the occurrence of metastasis remain prevalent. We observed the long-term efficacy and safety of bevacizumab combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) and CCRT in refractory CC. A total of 62 patients with refractory CC were enrolled in this study from January 2016 to December 2019. The NACT regimen included bevacizumab (7.5 mg/kg), docetaxel (75 mg/m2), and cisplatin (75 mg/m2), administered tri-weekly for 2 cycles. The CCRT regimen included bevacizumab (7.5 mg/kg) and cisplatin (75 mg/m2), administered tri-weekly for 2 cycles. A dose of 45-50 Gy was prescribed for external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), while 30-35 Gy in 4-5 fractions was prescribed for brachytherapy (BT). Among the patients, 21 patients (33.9%) were at stages IIB-IIIB, 8 patients (12.9%) were at stage IIIC1, 19 patients (30.6%) were at stage IIIC2, and 14 patients (22.6%) were at stage IVB. Pelvic, para-aortic, supraclavicular, and inguinal lymph node metastases were discovered in 41 patients (66.1%). The median follow-up was 49.8 months (12.3-82.7 months). The median tumor volumes pre-treatment, after NACT, and before BT were 84.64 ± 53.15 cm3, 1.64 ± 13.15 cm3, and 0 ± 1.5 cm3, respectively. Complete clinical response (cCR) rates after NACT and EBRT were 35.5% and 66.1%, respectively. Four years after the diagnosis, the overall survival (OS) rate was 78.6%, the local region-free survival (LRFS) rate was 91.3%, the disease-free survival (DFS) rate was 70.6%, and the distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) rate was 81.4%. A total of 29 patients (46.8%) experienced grade 3/4 hematological toxicity, 3 patients (4.8%) experienced grade 3 gastrointestinal toxicities, and none experienced grade 5 adverse events. Bevacizumab combined with NACT and CCRT significantly improved cCR and OS in refractory CC with acceptable toxicity.