Avastin.net

The safety profile of Avastin does not generally overlap with those of concomitant therapies

Chemotherapy-related AEs occurred at similar incidences with or without Avastin in a phase III study in NSCLC¹¹

• Anticancer agents such as cytotoxic chemotherapy and immunotherapy also have toxicity profiles related to their MoA.

• Depending on the specific therapy, AEs may include
  • myelosuppression
  • diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting
  • mucositis/stomatitis
  • hand-foot syndrome
  • alopecia
  • fatigue.

• Due to its precise action against VEGF, the side effects associated with the use of Avastin do not generally overlap with those of concomitant agents
  • some such toxicities have been reported at higher frequencies in Avastin-treated patients in randomised trials; this is likely to result from increased exposure to concomitant therapy in patients receiving efficacy benefit from Avastin.^9,10

• Non-specific VEGF targeting by anti-angiogenic agents of different design to Avastin (e.g. TKIs) can produce AEs typically observed with chemotherapy, such as myelosuppression, hand-foot syndrome and fatigue, potentially making the combination of these agents with other therapies problematic.¹²