Formal discussant of the AURELIA presentation, Nicoletta Colombo, MD, University of Milan Bicocca, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy, said, “This is the only positive trial in patients with platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer.”

Dr. Colombo was impressed with the activity of weekly paclitaxel plus bevacizumab (Avastin) in the subgroup analysis.

“At 6 months, 69% of patients were progression-free, and at 12 months, 33% were progression-free [in the weekly paclitaxel arm]. This convinces me of the activity of this combination with bevacizumab,” she told listeners. 

“Weekly paclitaxel plus bevacizumab should be explored earlier in the course of ovarian cancer, since the combination is so active in platinum-resistant disease,” she stated. ■

Disclosure: Dr. Colombo reported no potential conflicts of interest.