Adverse Events Associated With Long-term Treatment of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer With Bevacizumab and Chemotherapy

Abstract

Background/aim: Adverse events associated with long-term bevacizumab administration for ovarian cancer have been poorly documented in Japan. This study aimed to evaluate the adverse events of bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy for treating primary and recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer in Japan.

Patients and methods: In this single-center retrospective study, we analyzed data of patients with advanced and recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer treated with bevacizumab and chemotherapy between January 2013 and November 2019. Statistical analyses were performed using the Fisher's exact test and Kaplan-Meier method.

Results: A total of 46 patients were included and the follow-up time was 30 months. The median duration of bevacizumab treatment was 14 months, and the median total dose of bevacizumab was 247.5 mg/kg. The most common adverse events were hypertension (n=30; 65.2%) and proteinuria (n=24; 49%) in all grades. The onset of hypertension and proteinuria occurred at a median of 2 months and 14 months after treatment initiation in all grades, respectively. Gastrointestinal perforation occurred significantly more frequently in patients with a history of radiation therapy.

Conclusion: This study included cases of primary advanced and recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer, and had a longer observation period and reported more adverse events of bevacizumab with chemotherapy than previous reports. The administration of bevacizumab therapy in patients with a history of radiation should be carefully considered due to increased chances of gastrointestinal perforation.

Keywords: Adverse drug event; bevacizumab; chemotherapy; gastrointestinal perforation; ovarian neoplasms.