Experience of Combination Therapy Consisting of Carboplatin, Docetaxel, and Bevacizumab for Previously Treated Advanced Non-small-cell Lung Cancer

Background. Bevacizumab is a monoclonal antibody drug which targets vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and is approved for the treatment of patients with unresectable, locally advanced, recurrent or metastatic non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We report the treatment responses and adverse reactions in 4 consecutive patients with advanced or recurrent NSCLC treated using bevacizumab, carboplatin and docetaxel between November 2009 and February 2010. Cases. Patients were 2 men and 2 women between 57 and 68 years old. All patients had adenocarcinoma. Three of 4 patients had been previously treated with surgery, and all had received several regimens of chemotherapy (median, 5.5 regimens; range, 4-7). The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status was 0 or 1 in all patients. Chemotherapy with carboplatin (area under the curve=6), docetaxel (60 mg/m2) and bevacizumab (15 mg/kg) was given every 3 or 4 weeks for 2 cycles. Chest computed tomography after 2 cycles of treatment showed good response in 2 patients and a tendency for the primary tumor to shrink in 2 patients. Adverse events were grade 4 neutropenia in 3 patients. Grade 1 hemoptysis occurred in 1 patient and grade 1 epistaxis occurred in 3 patients. All events were considered tolerable. Conclusion. We treated 4 consecutive patients with advanced or recurrent NSCLC using 2 cycles of bevacizumab, carboplatin and docetaxel, 2 of them showed good responses.