Avastin

Judging by the number of people who are getting good results on Avastin it looks like there is hope for the more successful treatment of ovarian cancer in the future.

[Whippit]

Hi Sue

It is interesting to compare notes. As I understand the situation NICE won't approve it because based on the initial trials of a 15 mg per kilo body weight dose the cost of Avastin was in excess of £30k per annum for one additional year of life gained. Research such as OCEAN2 has been under way for some time testing the efficacy of a 7.5 mg dose and it's found to be just as effective but NICE will not re-evaluate the drug because its constitution prevents it from doing so. Well that was the argument shared at the APPG in May 2013.

Several of us taking the drug have been told recently that Avastin will continue to shrink the tumours for some while after chemotherapy finishes, and it will also retard their regrowth. This extends the time a patient has before needing further chemotherapy. That, for me, is the attraction of the drug. Living a year longer isn't as important to me as living a better quality of life for the years I have left.

You're right. Avastin does seem to be having a good effect and there are also other drugs and therapies being developed. We were told recently about the success with PARP inhibitors even for women who were not BRCA positive. This seems attractive to me because it's an oral drug and will not necessitate trips to the hospital every third week for intravenous maintenance Avastin. I look forward to a time when a therapy will be discovered that can bring greater hope of managing this disease more effectively.

xx love Annie

[ScardyCat40]

I definitely think in the future we will see more individualised treatments depending on what type of ovarian cancer you have.