Genentech, Inc., a wholly owned member of the Roche Group (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY), today announced results from a Phase III study (RIBBON 2) of Avastin® (bevacizumab) in women who had previously been treated with initial (first-line) chemotherapy for advanced HER2-negative breast cancer and needed additional (second-line) treatment.
The study showed that women who received Avastin in combination with a commonly used chemotherapy had a 28 percent improvement in the likelihood of living without the disease getting worse (progression-free survival or PFS), compared with those who received chemotherapy alone (hazard>
“It’s important for women with advanced breast cancer whose disease has worsened after their first treatment to have as many treatment choices as possible,” said Dr. Adam Brufsky, M.D., Medical Director of the Women's Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and principal investigator of the study. “This is the first Phase III study that showed an anti-angiogenic medicine combined with chemotherapy extended the time women with advanced HER2-negative disease, whose initial chemotherapy had stopped working, lived without the cancer worsening.”
The 28 percent improvement in PFS observed in RIBBON 2 can also be referred to as a 22 percent reduction in the risk of cancer progression or death (hazard>
Results of the RIBBON 2 study were featured today during a press briefing at the 32nd Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Full results will be presented this afternoon (Abstract #42 – Friday, December 11, 2009, 3:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. CST, Exhibit Hall D).