The Clinical Study Of Avastin Therapy For Advanced Colorectal Cancer And Analysis Of Prediction Factors

Background and ObjectiveAs one of the most common malignant tumors, colorectal carcinoma (CRC) poses a serious threat to the public health and its incidence is still on the rise worldwide. At present, open surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy constitute the 3 mainstream therapies for CRC, but surgical resection of the tumor still remains the most effective primary option. Unfortunately, nearly half of the surgically treated patients experience postoperative tumor relapse and metastasis with fatal consequences. Adjuvant chemotherapy has been recognized for its definite effect in prevention and treatment of tumor recurrence and metastasis, but its efficacy has not been satisfactory. Looking for new treatment modality for CRC, therefore, has become a currently urgent task for clinical researchers. Available evidences suggest that tumor growth and metastasis rely largely on neoangiogenesis, which offers important clues for inhibiting tumor growth and metastasis by blocking the angiogenesis in the tumor. Avastin, a humanized recombinant monoclonal antibody, is found to possess high affinity for binding to Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and execute its anti-tumor effect by blocking the angiogenetic process. Phase III clinical trial has shown the good efficacy of this drug in management of advanced CRC by prolonging the progression-free survival and total survival of the patients. Due to its prominent therapeutic efficacy, the FDA of the USA approved on Feb. 26th,...