In article <tftqr25i3fqmdlra515rosi0vr3csq5o4d@4ax.com>, Bob
<bbx107.XYZ@excite.XYZ.com> wrote:

 On Sun, 28 Jan 2007 12:42:46 -0800, jason@nospam.com (Jason Johnson)
 wrote:
 
 >
 >I have a neighbor that is my best friend. He recently found out
 >that he has a large tumor in his esophagus. His doctor has not yet
 >done a biophy but believes he probably does have cancer.
 >
 >The doctor told him that surgery on the esophagus to remove the
 >tumor was not an option since the esophagus would be damaged
 >by the surgery.
 >
 >The doctor discussed chemotherapy as a treatment option.
 >
 >I read about some sort of new method of treating cancer. It involves
 >making use of a needle to inject a medication into the tumor. The
 >medication causes the blood to stop flowing to the tumor. As a result,
 >the tumor stops growing and actually dies.
 >
 >Is that medication and related treatment program now being used to
 >treat cancer? If so, can it be used to treat cancer of the esophagus?
 >
 
 Sounds like you might be referring to angiogenesis inhibitors (i.e.,
 antiangiogenesis drugs). The idea is to inhibit growth of blood
 vessels (angiogenesis) in solid tumors. You might try those as search
 terms in PubMed. I am not sure of their status, but suspect they are
 still experimental.
 
 Do you know about the clinical trials database, which is one way to
 get an idea of leading edge work? clinicaltrials.gov
 
 bob
 
 
 >Does anyone know of a website that mentions the treatment option discussed
 >above? If so, please post the URL.
 >
 >Thanks in advance,
 >Jason

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

bob,
Thanks. I made some notes related to the terms that you used and noted the
URL for the clinical trials database. For my neighbor's sake, I hope the
drugs can be used to treat the tumor since surgery is not an option. My
neighbor is having lots of stess and depression. One of the other
neighbors is spending time with him.
Jason
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update:
In my search, I found out that Avastin (bevacizumab) was approved by FDA
as a first-line treatment for patients with colorectal cancer that has
spread to other parts of the body. Avastin is a angiogenesis inhibitor.
Refer to
PubMed report # 17212999.

PMID: 17212999

1: Clin Ther. 2006 Nov;28(11):1779-802.  
 
(Avastin) Bevacizumab: an angiogenesis inhibitor for the treatment of
solid malignancies.

       * Shih T,
       * Lindley C.

   Department of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics,
University of North Carolina School of Pharmacy, Chapel Hill, USA.
ted.z.shih@gsk.com

   BACKGROUND: Bevacizumab is a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody
that was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in February
2004 for use as part of combination therapy with fluorouracil-based
regimens for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). OBJECTIVES: This article
reviews the mechanism of action, clinical pharmacology, and
pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties of bevacizumab. It
summarizes data on the clinical efficacy and tolerability of bevacizumab
from Phase II/III trials in mCRC, breast cancer, non-small-cell lung
cancer, and renal cell carcinoma and preliminary data from investigational
studies in pancreatic cancer and soft-tissue sarcomas. The dosing and
administration of bevacizumab also are discussed. METHODS: A comprehensive
search of the English-language literature indexed on MEDLINE (1966-April
2006) was performed using the terms Avastin, bevacizumab, vascular
endothelial growth factor, angiogenesis, and bevacizumab plus colorectal
cancer, breast cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and
renal cell carcinoma. Published abstracts from American Society of
Clinical Oncology annual meetings from 2002 to 2006, FDA submission
documents, and the product information for bevacizumab also were reviewed.
Pertinent review articles, preclinical studies, and editorials and all
published Phase II/III clinical trials were selected for review. The
reference lists of identified articles were examined for additional
publications. RESULTS: Bevacizumab exhibits linear pharmacokinetics in the
dose range between 0.3 and 10 mg/kg q2-3wk and steady state, which is
reached in approximately 100 days. The estimated t(1/2) of bevacizumab is
approximately 20 days. After correction for body weight, clearance and
V(d) are reported to be a respective 26% and 22% higher in men than in
women. Statistical analyses have not been performed, however, and the
clinical impact of these gender differences has not been assessed. No dose
adjustment is currently recommended based on age, sex, or renal function.
Bevacizumab has been reported to result in changes in exposure to
concomitant chemotherapy, although formal drug-interaction studies have
not been performed. Surrogate markers of disease progression or treatment
response to bevacizumab have been studied, but no significant correlations
with any outcome measure have been found. When combined with standard
chemotherapy regimens, bevacizumab has been associated with significant
improvements compared with chemotherapy alone in the efficacy end points
of overall survival, progression-free survival, and response rates in
patients with mCRC (all, P < 0.05). Based on these findings, bevacizumab
is considered a first-line option for this disease. Combination
bevacizumab regimens have been associated with clinical activity in breast
cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer, renal cell carcinoma, pancreatic
cancer, and soft-tissue sarcoma. The observed toxicities of bevacizumab
include hypertension, proteinuria, mild to moderate hemorrhage, wound
healing complications, and thromboembolic events. A bevacizumab dose of 5
mg/kg q2wk has been established as effective and well tolerated in the
setting of mCRC. A variety of dosing schemes have been investigated in
other solid neoplasms, but no consensus has been reached on the optimal
bevacizumab regimen. CONCLUSIONS: Bevacizumab is effective and generally
well tolerated as first-line therapy for mCRC. The results from clinical
studies of bevacizumab as a single agent or as part of combination
regimens for breast cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer, renal cell
carcinoma, and other solid malignancies have been promising. The most
effective regimens for various malignancies and predictive markers of
treatment response have not been fully determined. Combining bevacizumab
with chemotherapy or other novel targeted agents appears to be a rational
approach that may enhance efficacy while limiting the traditional
nonselective toxicities.

   PMID: 17212999 [PubMed - in process]
   Related Links

       * Capecitabine: a review. [Clin Ther. 2005] PMID: 15763604
       * Rituximab: a review of its use in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and
chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. [Drugs. 2003] PMID: 12662126
       * Investigating the potential of bevacizumab in other indications:
metastatic renal cell, non-small cell lung, pancreatic and breast cancer.
[Oncology. 2005] PMID: 16301835
       * Phase I/II trial evaluating the anti-vascular endothelial growth
factor monoclonal antibody bevacizumab in combination with the
HER-1/epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor erlotinib
for patients with recurrent non-small-cell lung cancer. [J Clin Oncol.
2005] PMID: 15753462
       * Bevacizumab: an angiogenesis inhibitor with efficacy in
colorectal and other malignancies. [Ann Pharmacother. 2004] PMID: 15187215
       * See all Related Articles...

Jan 16 2007 05:58:20

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J Clin Oncol. 2005 Apr 10;23(11):2544-55. Epub 2005 Mar 7.