A Study of Paclitaxel Plus Bevacizumab in Patients With Chemosensitive Relapsed Small Cell Lung Cancer

Improvements in therapy for relapsed SCLC are much needed. Paclitaxel has been previously tested and found to have significant single agent activity in relapsed SCLC, including in refractory patients. Angiogenesis plays an important role in SCLC, increased VEGF levels are associated with worse outcomes. Bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody to VEGF, increase response rates and survival when combined with chemotherapy agents compared with the chemotherapy agent alone in NSCLC, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer. Paclitaxel plus bevacizumab, in the dose and schedule proposed in this study, improves response rates and progression free survival compared with paclitaxel alone in women with metastatic breast cancer. Therefore, we will be testing the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of this regimen in patients with chemosensitive relapsed SCLC.