Dr. Levine Discusses a Combination Study in Endometrial Cancer

Douglas A. Levine, MD, professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, director, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, NYU Langone's Perlmutter Cancer Center, discusses the randomized NRG Oncology Group 86P study for patients with endometrial cancer.

This was a phase III trial that randomized patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer who had not received prior chemotherapy to 1 of 3 arms, either taxol, carboplatin, and bevacizumab (Avastin), taxol, carboplatin, and temsirolimus, or ixabepilone (Ixempra), carboplatin, and bevacizumab. The primary outcome was progression-free survival, which was compared with a historical control from the GOG-209 study.

Physicians are still trying to validate the data. There have not been a lot of studies that have investigated bevacizumab in endometrial cancer. According to Levine, it is important to find a study that has been completed and has collected tissue to confirm the biomarker of beta-catenin for patients treated with bevacizumab. Determining who will benefit from bevacizumab is an additional area that needs to be investigated further.