A phase II study of bevacizumab in non-squamous, non-small-cell lung cancer patients with malignant pleural effusion

Efficacy of bevacizumab through an indwelling pleural catheter in non-small cell lung cancer patients with symptomatic malignant pleural effusion

BACKGROUND

Several studies have indicated that intrapleural infusion of bevacizumab is an effective treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with malignant pleural effusion (MPE). However, the impact of bevacizumab administered through an indwelling pleural catheter (IPC) on the prognosis of these patients is unknown.

METHODS

Consecutive advanced NSCLC patients with symptomatic MPE receiving an IPC alone or bevacizumab through an IPC were identified in a tertiary hospital. The patient characteristics and clinical outcomes were collected.

RESULTS

A total of 149 patients were included, and the median age was 60.3 years. Males and nonsmokers accounted for 48.3% and 65.8%, respectively. A total of 69.8% (104/149) of patients harbored actionable mutations, including 92 EGFR-activating mutations, 11 ALK fusions, and 1 ROS1 fusion. A total of 81.9% (122/149) of patients received IPC alone, and 18.1% (27/149) received bevacizumab through an IPC. The incidence of spontaneous pleurodesis during the first 6 months was greater in the bevacizumab-treated group than in the IPC-treated group in the subgroup with actionable mutations (64.3% vs. 46.9%, P = 0.28). The median overall survival (OS) in patients with actionable mutations treated with bevacizumab through an IPC was 42.2 months, which was significantly longer than the 26.7 months in patients who received an IPC alone (P = 0.045). However, the median OS did not differ between the two arms in the subgroup without actionable mutations (10.8 vs. 41.0 months, P = 0.24). No significant difference between the bevacizumab through an IPC group and the IPC group was detected in the number of participants who had adverse events, either in patients with actionable mutations (14.3% vs. 8.4%; P = 0.42) or in patients without actionable mutations (16.7% vs. 12.8%; P = 1.00).

CONCLUSIONS

Bevacizumab through an IPC resulted in a significantly improved prognosis for NSCLC patients with MPE and actionable mutations. However, patients without actionable mutations do not benefit from bevacizumab through IPC.

Comparison between different treatment regimens of vascular targeting drug to malignant pleural effusion in patients with lung cancer: A Bayesian network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The presence of malignant pleural effusion in lung cancer patients often suggests a poor prognosis. We plan to investigate which regimen of vascular targeting drug is preferable to control the malignant pleural effusion in such patients.

METHODS

Two investigators dependently searched and screened for randomized controlled trials in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure from the database inception to August 2022. R software was applied to build a network model in Bayesian method. Objective response rate of malignant pleural effusion is the primary outcome measure. Besides, the incidence of 3 adverse events were compared, including gastrointestinal reaction, leukopenia and hypertension. Due to the disconnection of network, we analysis and discuss the short-term treatment (3-4 weeks) and long-term treatment (6-12 weeks) respectively.

RESULTS

31 studies with 2093 patients were identified. Four targeting drugs contain bevacizumab (Bev), anlotinib, apatinib and Endostar. Two administration routes include intracavity perfusion (icp) and intravenous injection. Based on the current evidence, for short-term treatments, compared with single-agent chemotherapy (CT), Bev_icp + CT, anlotinib + CT, Bev_icp and anlotinib + endorstar_icp present better objective response, and no statistical significance was found in objective response between Bev_icp + CT, anlotinib + CT and Bev_icp. For long-term treatments, compared with doublet or triplet chemotherapy (2CT or 3CT), Bev_icp + 2CT, apatinib + 2CT, Bev_icp + 3CT, and Bev_intravenous injection + 2CT are more effective option, but no statistical significance was found in objective response between the 4 combination regimens with chemotherapy.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that no statistical significance between above vascular targeting regimens. Pathological type of lung cancer may affect the effect of bevacizumab intracavity infusion plus chemotherapy. The influence of different administration routes of vascular targeting drugs on efficacy remains to be investigated. There are some concerns with the quality of the studies, and some limitations should be considered when interpreting these results, which includes limited geographical region and sample size of studies. Despite these limitations, this study may inform vascular targeting therapy choice in such a patient population.

Intrapleural Anticancer Therapy for Malignant Pleural Diseases: Facts or Fiction?

Malignant pleural diseases involves both primary pleural malignancies (e.g., mesothelioma) as well as metastatic disease involving the pleura. The management of primary pleural malignancies remains a challenge, given their limited response to conventional treatments such as surgery, systemic chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. In this article, we aimed to review the management of primary pleural malignancy as well as malignant pleural effusion and assess the current state of intrapleural anticancer therapies. We review the role intrapleural chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and immunogene therapy, as well as oncolytic viral, therapy and intrapleural drug device combination. We further discuss that while the pleural space offers a unique opportunity for local therapy as an adjuvant option to systemic therapy and may help decrease some of the systemic side effects, further patient outcome-oriented research is needed to determine the exact role of these treatments within the armamentarium of currently available options.

Malignant Pleural Effusions: Updates in Diagnosis and Management

Malignant pleural effusions remain a significant clinical problem resulting in greater than 125,000 hospitalizations per year and leading to over 5 billion dollars in healthcare utilization costs. Not only are health care expenditures related to malignant pleural effusion significant, but malignant pleural effusions also often result in significant patient discomfort and distress, largely at the end of life. Advances in management over the past several years have provided patients with greater autonomy as they are able to provide self-aid at home either alone or with family assistance. Additionally, practice changes have allowed for fewer interventions allowing patients to spend more time out of the clinic or inpatient wards.