Ovarian cancer (advanced): bevacizumab 7.5 mg/kg in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin for first-line treatment

About bevacizumab

Bevacizumab (also known as Avastin) is an anticancer drug that stops new blood vessels forming in some tumours. This limits the blood supply to the tumour, with the aim of causing it to shrink or stop growing. For advanced ovarian cancer, it is first given with drugs called carboplatin and paclitaxel. After this initial treatment, bevacizumab is then given on its own for up to 15 months.

Bevacizumab is licensed in the UK for treating advanced ovarian cancer at a recommended dose of 15 mg per kg of body weight and is given once every 3 weeks as an infusion (through a drip inserted into a vein) usually in hospital.

It is also licensed to be used with other chemotherapy drugs for cancers of the colon, breasts, rectum, kidneys and lungs.

Some hospitals in the UK already use bevacizumab for treating ovarian cancer, but at half the licensed dose. The dose they use is 7.5 mg per kg of body weight and it is given every 3 weeks. Using it in this way is described as 'off label'.