Bevacizumab plus capecitabine as a salvage therapy in advanced adrenocortical carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
No standard therapy for advanced adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is established by any randomized trial but a consensus conference 2003 recommended mitotane as monotherapy or combined with etoposide, doxorubicin and cisplatin or with streptozotocin as first-line systemic therapy. However, there is no evidence for any therapy beneficial in patients failing these therapies. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of the anti-VEGF antibody bevacizumab plus capecitabine as salvage therapy in ACC.


METHODS
Patients registered with the German ACC Registry with refractory ACC progressing after cytotoxic therapies were offered treatment with bevacizumab (5 mg/kg body weight i.v. every 21 days) and oral capecitabine (950 mg/m(2) twice daily for 14 days followed by 7 days of rest) in 2006-2008. Evaluation of tumour response was performed by imaging according to response evaluation criteria in solid tumours every 12 weeks.


RESULTS
Ten patients were treated with bevacizumab plus capecitabine. None of them experienced any objective response or stable disease. Two patients had to stop therapy after few weeks due to hand-foot syndrome, and three patients died on progressive disease within 12 weeks. Other adverse events were mild (grade I-II). Median survival after treatment initiation was 124 days.


CONCLUSIONS
Bevacizumab plus capecitabine has no activity in patients with very advanced ACC. Hence, this regimen cannot be recommended as a salvage therapy.
Wortmann
Sebastian
S
Endocrine and Diabetes Unit, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital of Würzburg, University of Würzburg, Oberdürrbacher Strasse 6, 97080 Würzburg, Germany.
Quinkler
Marcus
M
Ritter
Christian
C
Kroiss
Matthias
M
Johanssen
Sarah
S
Hahner
Stefanie
S
Allolio
Bruno
B
Fassnacht
Martin
M
D000306:Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D018268:Adrenocortical Carcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D000068258:Bevacizumab; D000069287:Capecitabine; D003841:Deoxycytidine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016879:Salvage Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015996:Survival Rate; D017211:Treatment Failure; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000276:immunology
D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D003841:Deoxycytidine; D000068258:Bevacizumab; D000069287:Capecitabine; D005472:Fluorouracil