Bevacizumab

Increased rates of severe neutropenia, febrile neutropenia, or infection with or without severe neutropenia (including some fatalities) have been observed mainly in patients treated with platinum- or taxane-based therapies in the treatment of NSCLC and mBC.

Cases of ONJ have been reported in cancer patients treated with bevacizumab, the majority of whom had received prior or concomitant treatment with intravenous bisphosphonates, for which ONJ is an identified risk. Caution should be exercised when bevacizumab and intravenous bisphosphonates are administered simultaneously or sequentially.

Invasive dental procedures are also an identified risk factor. A dental examination and appropriate preventive dentistry should be considered prior to starting the treatment with bevacizumab. In patients who have previously received or are receiving intravenous bisphosphonates invasive dental procedures should be avoided, if possible.

IV administration

Repeat dose toxicity studies in animals have shown that bevacizumab may have an adverse effect on female fertility. In a phase III trial in the adjuvant treatment of patients with colon cancer, a substudy with premenopausal women has shown a higher incidence of new cases of ovarian failure in the bevacizumab group compared to the control group. After discontinuation of bevacizumab treatment, ovarian function recovered in the majority of patients. Long term effects of the treatment with bevacizumab on fertility are unknown.

Intravitreal use

No reproductive or fertility studies have been conducted with bevacizumab gamma. VEGF inhibition has been shown to affect follicular development, corpus luteum function and fertility. Ovarian effects can be attributed to a direct result of the local inhibition of VEGF on active angiogenesis, which is profound in the ovary.

No interaction studies have been performed. EGFR monoclonal antibodies should not be administered for the treatment of mCRC in combination with bevacizumab-containing chemotherapy. Results from the randomised phase III studies, PACCE and CAIRO-2, in patients with mCRC suggest that the use of anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies panitumumab and cetuximab, respectively, in combination with bevacizumab plus chemotherapy, is associated with decreased PFS and/or OS, and with increased toxicity compared with bevacizumab plus chemotherapy alone.

In two clinical trials of metastatic renal cell carcinoma, microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia (MAHA) was reported in 7 of 19 patients treated with bevacizumab (10 mg/kg every two weeks) and sunitinib malate (50 mg daily) combination.

MAHA is a haemolytic disorder which can present with red cell fragmentation, anaemia, and thrombocytopenia. In addition, hypertension (including hypertensive crisis), elevated creatinine, and neurological symptoms were observed in some of these patients. All these findings were reversible upon discontinuation of bevacizumab and sunitinib malate.

The safety and efficacy of concomitant administration of radiotherapy and bevacizumab has not been established.

Risk factors associated with the development of a retinal pigment epithelial tear after anti-VEGF therapy for nAMD include a large and/or high pigment epithelial retinal detachment. When initiating bevacizumab gamma therapy, caution should be used in patients with these risk factors for retinal pigment epithelial tears.

There is no information on the safety profile of bevacizumab in patients with congenital bleeding diathesis, acquired coagulopathy or in patients receiving full dose of anticoagulants for the treatment of thromboembolism prior to starting bevacizumab treatment, as such patients were excluded from clinical trials. Therefore, caution should be exercised before initiating therapy in these patients. However, patients who developed venous thrombosis while receiving therapy did not appear to have an increased rate of grade 3 or above bleeding when treated with a full dose of warfarin and bevacizumab concomitantly (NCI-CTCAE v.3).

Patients receiving bevacizumab plus chemotherapy, with a history of arterial thromboembolism, diabetes or age greater than 65 years have an increased risk of developing arterial thromboembolic reactions during therapy. Caution should be taken when treating these patients with bevacizumab.

Pre-existing hypertension should be adequately controlled before starting bevacizumab treatment. There is no information on the effect of bevacizumab in patients with uncontrolled hypertension at the time of initiating therapy.

Patients with a history of hypertension may be at increased risk for the development of proteinuria when treated with bevacizumab.

Bevacizumab may adversely affect the wound healing process. Serious wound healing complications, including anastomotic complications, with a fatal outcome have been reported. In patients who experienced wound healing complications during therapy, treatment should be withheld until the wound is fully healed. Therapy should be withheld for elective surgery.

Caution should be exercised when treating patients with clinically significant cardiovascular disease such as pre-existing coronary artery disease, or congestive heart failure with bevacizumab.

IV administration

There are no clinical trial data on the use of bevacizumab in pregnant women. Studies in animals have shown reproductive toxicity including malformations. IgGs are known to cross the placenta, and bevacizumab is anticipated to inhibit angiogenesis in the foetus, and thus is suspected to cause serious birth defects when administered during pregnancy. In the post-marketing setting, cases of foetal abnormalities in women treated with bevacizumab alone or in combination with known embryotoxic chemotherapeutics have been observed. Bevacizumab is contraindicated in pregnancy.

Intravitreal use

There are no data on the use of bevacizumab gamma in pregnant women. Based on studies in animals with other anti-VEGFs, treatment with bevacizumab gamma may pose a risk to human embryo foetal development. Therefore, bevacizumab gamma should not be used during pregnancy unless the potential benefit outweighs the potential risk to the foetus.

IV administration

It is not known whether bevacizumab is excreted in human milk. As maternal IgG is excreted in milk and bevacizumab could harm infant growth and development, women must discontinue breast-feeding during therapy and not breast-feed for at least six months following the last dose of bevacizumab.

Intravitreal use

There are no data available on the presence of bevacizumab gamma in human milk, the effects of bevacizumab gamma on the breast-fed infant or the effects of bevacizumab gamma on milk production/excretion. A risk to the breast-fed newborn/infant cannot be excluded. A decision must be made whether to discontinue breast-feeding or to abstain from bevacizumab gamma therapy, taking into account the benefit of breast-feeding for the child and the benefit of therapy for the woman.

Women of childbearing potential

IV administration

Women of childbearing potential have to use effective contraception during (and up to 6 months after) treatment.

Intravitreal use

Women of childbearing potential should use effective contraception during treatment with bevacizumab gamma and for at least three months after the last dose when stopping treatment with bevacizumab gamma.

Fertility

IV administration

Repeat dose toxicity studies in animals have shown that bevacizumab may have an adverse effect on female fertility. In a phase III trial in the adjuvant treatment of patients with colon cancer, a substudy with premenopausal women has shown a higher incidence of new cases of ovarian failure in the bevacizumab group compared to the control group. After discontinuation of bevacizumab treatment, ovarian function recovered in the majority of patients. Long term effects of the treatment with bevacizumab on fertility are unknown.

Intravitreal use

No reproductive or fertility studies have been conducted with bevacizumab gamma. VEGF inhibition has been shown to affect follicular development, corpus luteum function and fertility. Ovarian effects can be attributed to a direct result of the local inhibition of VEGF on active angiogenesis, which is profound in the ovary.

IV administration

Bevacizumab has no or negligible influence on the ability to drive and use machines. However, somnolence and syncope have been reported with bevacizumab use. If patients are experiencing symptoms that affect their vision or concentration, or their ability to react, they should be advised not to drive and use machines until symptoms abate.

Intravitreal use

Bevacizumab gamma has a minor influence on the ability to drive and use machines due to possible temporary visual disturbances following the intravitreal injection and the associated eye examination. Patients should not drive or use machines until these temporary visual disturbances subside.

Summary of the safety profile

The overall safety profile of bevacizumab is based on data from over 5,700 patients with various malignancies, predominantly treated with bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy in clinical trials.

The most serious adverse reactions were:

• Gastrointestinal perforations.
• Haemorrhage, including pulmonary haemorrhage/haemoptysis, which is more common in non-small cell lung cancer patients.
• Arterial thromboembolism.

The most frequently observed adverse reactions across clinical trials in patients receiving bevacizumab were hypertension, fatigue or asthenia, diarrhoea and abdominal pain.

Analyses of the clinical safety data suggest that the occurrence of hypertension and proteinuria with bevacizumab therapy are likely to be dose-dependent.

Tabulated list of adverse reactions

The adverse reactions listed in this section fall into the following frequency categories: Very common (≥1/10); common (≥1/100 to <1/10); uncommon (≥1/1,000 to <1/100); rare (≥1/10,000 to <1/1,000); very rare (<1/10,000); not known (cannot be estimated from the available data).

Tables 1 and 2 list adverse reactions associated with the use of bevacizumab in combination with different chemotherapy regimens in multiple indications, by MedDRA system organ class.

Table 1 provides all adverse reactions by frequency that were determined to have a causal relationship with bevacizumab through:

• comparative incidences noted between clinical trial treatment arms (with at least a 10% difference compared to the control arm for NCI-CTCAE grade 1-5 reactions or at least a 2% difference compared to the control arm for NCI-CTCAE grade 3-5 reactions,
• post-authorisation safety studies,
• spontaneous reporting,
• epidemiological studies\non-interventional or observational studies,
• or through an evaluation of individual case reports.

Table 2 provides the frequency of severe adverse reactions. Severe reactions are defined as adverse reactions with at least a 2% difference compared to the control arm in clinical trials for NCI-CTCAE grade 3-5 reactions. Table 2 also includes adverse reactions which are considered by the MAH to be clinically significant or severe.

Post-marketing adverse reactions are included in both Tables 1 and 2, where applicable. Detailed information about these post-marketing reactions are provided in Table 3.

Adverse reactions are added to the appropriate frequency category in the Tables below according to the highest incidence seen in any indication.

Within each frequency category, adverse reactions are presented in the order of decreasing seriousness.

Some of the adverse reactions are reactions commonly seen with chemotherapy; however, bevacizumab may exacerbate these reactions when combined with chemotherapeutic agents. Examples include palmar-plantar erythrodysaesthesia syndrome with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin or capecitabine, peripheral sensory neuropathy with paclitaxel or oxaliplatin, nail disorders or alopecia with paclitaxel, and paronychia with erlotinib.

Table 1. Adverse reactions by frequency:

When events were noted as both all grade and grade 3-5 adverse drug reactions in clinical trials, the highest frequency observed in patients has been reported. Data are unadjusted for the differential time on treatment.

^a For further information please refer to Table 3 “Adverse reactions reported in post-marketing setting”.
^b Terms represent a group of events that describe a medical concept rather than a single condition or MedDRA (Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities) preferred term. This group of medical terms may involve the same underlying pathophysiology (e.g. arterial thromboembolic reactions include cerebrovascular accident, myocardial infarction, transient ischaemic attack and other arterial thromboembolic reactions).
^c Based on a substudy from NSABP C-08 with 295 patients.
^d For additional information refer below within section “Description of selected serious adverse reactions”.
^e Recto-vaginal fistulae are the most common fistulae in the GI-vaginal fistula category.
^f Observed in paediatric population only.

Table 2. Severe adverse reactions by frequency:

Table 2 provides the frequency of severe adverse reactions. Severe reactions are defined as adverse reactions with at least a 2% difference compared to the control arm in clinical studies for NCI-CTCAE grade 3-5 reactions.

Table 2 also includes adverse reactions which are considered by the MAH to be clinically significant or severe. These clinically significant adverse reactions were reported in clinical trials but the grade 3-5 reactions did not meet the threshold of at least a 2% difference compared to the control arm. Table 2 also includes clinically significant adverse reactions that were observed only in the post-marketing setting, therefore, the frequency and NCI-CTCAE grade is not known. These clinically significant reactions have therefore been included in Table 2 within the column entitled “Frequency not known”.

^a Terms represent a group of events that describe a medical concept rather than a single condition or MedDRA (Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities) preferred term. This group of medical terms may involve the same underlying pathophysiology (e.g. arterial thromboembolic reactions include cerebrovascular accident, myocardial infarction, transient ischaemic attack and other arterial thromboembolic reactions).
^b For additional information refer below within section “Description of selected serious adverse reactions”.
^c For further information please refer to Table 3 “Adverse reactions reported in post-marketing setting”.
^d Recto-vaginal fistulae are the most common fistulae in the GI-vaginal fistula category.

Description of selected serious adverse reactions

GI perforations and fistulae

Bevacizumab has been associated with serious cases of gastrointestinal perforation.

GI perforations have been reported in clinical trials with an incidence of less than 1% in patients with non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer, up to 1.3% in patients with metastatic breast cancer, up to 2.0% in patients with metastatic renal cell cancer or in patients with ovarian cancer, and up to 2.7% (including gastrointestinal fistula and abscess) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. From a clinical trial in patients with persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer (study GOG-0240), GI perforations (all grade) were reported in 3.2% of patients, all of whom had a history of prior pelvic radiation.

The occurrence of those events varied in type and severity, ranging from free air seen on the plain abdominal X-ray, which resolved without treatment, to intestinal perforation with abdominal abscess and fatal outcome. In some cases, underlying intra-abdominal inflammation was present, either from gastric ulcer disease, tumour necrosis, diverticulitis, or chemotherapy-associated colitis.

Fatal outcome was reported in approximately a third of serious cases of gastrointestinal perforations, which represents between 0.2%-1% of all bevacizumab-treated patients.

In bevacizumab clinical trials, gastrointestinal fistulae (all grade) have been reported with an incidence of up to 2% in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and ovarian cancer, but were also reported less commonly in patients with other types of cancer.

GI-vaginal fistulae in study GOG-0240

In a trial of patients with persistent, recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer, the incidence of GI-vaginal fistulae was 8.3% in bevacizumab-treated patients and 0.9% in control patients, all of whom had a history of prior pelvic radiation. The frequency of GI-vaginal fistulae in the group treated with bevacizumab + chemotherapy was higher in patients with recurrence within the field of prior radiation (16.7%) compared with patients with no prior radiation and/ or no recurrence inside the field of prior radiation (3.6%). The corresponding frequencies in the control group receiving chemotherapy alone were 1.1% vs. 0.8%, respectively. Patients who develop GI-vaginal fistulae may also have bowel obstructions and require surgical intervention as well as diverting ostomies.

Non-GI fistulae

Bevacizumab use has been associated with serious cases of fistulae including reactions resulting in death.

From a clinical trial in patients with persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer (GOG-240), 1.8% of bevacizumab-treated patients and 1.4% of control patients were reported to have had non-gastrointestinal vaginal, vesical, or female genital tract fistulae.

Uncommon (≥0.1% to <1%) reports of fistulae that involve areas of the body other than the gastrointestinal tract (e.g. bronchopleural and biliary fistulae) were observed across various indications. Fistulae have also been reported in post-marketing experience.

Reactions were reported at various time points during treatment ranging from one week to greater than 1 year from initiation of bevacizumab, with most reactions occurring within the first 6 months of therapy.

Wound healing

As bevacizumab may adversely impact wound healing, patients who had major surgery within the last 28 days were excluded from participation in phase III clinical trials.

In clinical trials of metastatic carcinoma of the colon or rectum, there was no increased risk of postoperative bleeding or wound healing complications observed in patients who underwent major surgery 28-60 days prior to starting bevacizumab. An increased incidence of post-operative bleeding or wound healing complication occurring within 60 days of major surgery was observed if the patient was being treated with bevacizumab at the time of surgery. The incidence varied between 10% (4/40) and 20% (3/15).

Serious wound healing complications, including anastomotic complications, have been reported, some of which had a fatal outcome.

In locally recurrent and metastatic breast cancer trials, grade 3-5 wound healing complications were observed in up to 1.1% of patients receiving bevacizumab compared with up to 0.9% of patients in the control arms (NCI-CTCAE v.3).

In clinical trials of ovarian cancer, grade 3-5 wound healing complications were observed in up to 1.8% of patients in the bevacizumab arm versus 0.1% in the control arm (NCI-CTCAE v.3).

Hypertension

In clinical trials, with the exception of study JO25567, the overall incidence of hypertension (all grades) ranged up to 42.1% in the bevacizumab-containing arms compared with up to 14% in the control arms. The overall incidence of NCI-CTC grade 3 and 4 hypertension in patients receiving bevacizumab ranged from 0.4% to 17.9%. Grade 4 hypertension (hypertensive crisis) occurred in up to 1.0% of patients treated with bevacizumab and chemotherapy compared to up to 0.2% of patients treated with the same chemotherapy alone.

In study JO25567, all grade hypertension was observed in 77.3% of the patients who received bevacizumab in combination with erlotinib as first-line treatment for non-squamous NSCLC with EGFR activating mutations, compared to 14.3% of patients treated with erlotinib alone. Grade 3 hypertension was 60.0% in patients treated with bevacizumab in combination with erlotinib compared to 11.7% in patients treated with erlotinib alone. There were no grade 4 or 5 hypertension events.

Hypertension was generally adequately controlled with oral anti-hypertensives such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, diuretics and calcium-channel blockers. It rarely resulted in discontinuation of bevacizumab treatment or hospitalisation.

Very rare cases of hypertensive encephalopathy have been reported, some of which were fatal.

The risk of bevacizumab-associated hypertension did not correlate with the patients' baseline characteristics, underlying disease or concomitant therapy.

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome

There have been rare reports of bevacizumab-treated patients developing signs and symptoms that are consistent with PRES, a rare neurological disorder. Presentation may include seizures, headache, altered mental status, visual disturbance, or cortical blindness, with or without associated hypertension. The clinical presentation of PRES is often nonspecific, and therefore the diagnosis of PRES requires confirmation by brain imaging, preferably MRI.

In patients developing PRES, early recognition of symptoms with prompt treatment of specific symptoms including control of hypertension (if associated with severe uncontrolled hypertension) is recommended in addition to discontinuation of bevacizumab therapy. Symptoms usually resolve or improve within days after treatment discontinuation, although some patients have experienced some neurologic sequelae. The safety of reinitiating bevacizumab therapy in patients previously experiencing PRES is not known.

Across clinical trials, 8 cases of PRES have been reported. Two of the eight cases did not have radiological confirmation via MRI.

Proteinuria

In clinical trials, proteinuria has been reported within the range of 0.7% to 54.7% of patients receiving bevacizumab.

Proteinuria ranged in severity from clinically asymptomatic, transient, trace proteinuria to nephrotic syndrome, with the great majority as grade 1 proteinuria (NCI-CTCAE v.3). Grade 3 proteinuria was reported in up to 10.9% of treated patients. Grade 4 proteinuria (nephrotic syndrome) was seen in up to 1.4% of treated patients. Testing for proteinuria is recommended prior to start of Alymsys therapy. In most clinical trials urine protein levels of ≥2 g/24 hrs led to the holding of bevacizumab until recovery to <2 g/24 hrs.

Haemorrhage

In clinical trials across all indications the overall incidence of NCI-CTCAE v.3 grade 3-5 bleeding reactions ranged from 0.4% to 6.9% in bevacizumab treated patients, compared with up to 4.5% of patients in the chemotherapy control group.

From a clinical trial in patients with persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer (study GOG-0240), grade 3-5 bleeding reactions have been reported in up to 8.3% of patients treated with bevacizumab in combination with paclitaxel and topotecan compared with up to 4.6% of patients treated with paclitaxel and topotecan.

The haemorrhagic reactions that have been observed in clinical trials were predominantly tumour-associated haemorrhage (see below) and minor mucocutaneous haemorrhage (e.g. epistaxis).

Tumour-associated haemorrhage

Major or massive pulmonary haemorrhage/haemoptysis has been observed primarily in trials in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Possible risk factors include squamous cell histology, treatment with antirheumatic/anti-inflammatory substances, treatment with anticoagulants, prior radiotherapy, bevacizumab therapy, previous medical history of atherosclerosis, central tumour location and cavitation of tumours prior to or during therapy. The only variables that showed statistically significant correlations with bleeding were bevacizumab therapy and squamous cell histology. Patients with NSCLC of known squamous cell histology or mixed cell type with predominant squamous cell histology were excluded from subsequent phase III trials, while patients with unknown tumour histology were included.

In patients with NSCLC excluding predominant squamous histology, all grade reactions were seen with a frequency of up to 9.3% when treated with bevacizumab plus chemotherapy compared with up to 5% in the patients treated with chemotherapy alone. Grade 3-5 reactions have been observed in up to 2.3% of patients treated with bevacizumab plus chemotherapy as compared with < 1% with chemotherapy alone (NCI-CTCAE v.3). Major or massive pulmonary haemorrhage/haemoptysis can occur suddenly and up to two thirds of the serious pulmonary haemorrhages resulted in a fatal outcome.

Gastrointestinal haemorrhages, including rectal bleeding and melaena have been reported in colorectal cancer patients, and have been assessed as tumour-associated haemorrhages.

Tumour-associated haemorrhage was also seen rarely in other tumour types and locations, including cases of central nervous system (CNS) bleeding in patients with CNS metastases.

The incidence of CNS bleeding in patients with untreated CNS metastases receiving bevacizumab has not been prospectively evaluated in randomised clinical trials. In an exploratory retrospective analysis of data from 13 completed randomised trials in patients with various tumour types, 3 patients out of 91 (3.3%) with brain metastases experienced CNS bleeding (all grade 4) when treated with bevacizumab, compared to 1 case (grade 5) out of 96 patients (1%) that were not exposed to bevacizumab. In two subsequent studies in patients with treated brain metastases (which included around 800 patients), one case of grade 2 CNS haemorrhage was reported in 83 subjects treated with bevacizumab (1.2%) at the time of interim safety analysis (NCI-CTCAE v.3).

Across all clinical trials, mucocutaneous haemorrhage has been seen in up to 50% of bevacizumab-treated patients. These were most commonly NCI-CTCAE v.3 grade 1 epistaxis that lasted less than 5 minutes, resolved without medical intervention and did not require any changes in the bevacizumab treatment regimen. Clinical safety data suggest that the incidence of minor mucocutaneous haemorrhage (e.g. epistaxis) may be dose-dependent.

There have also been less common reactions of minor mucocutaneous haemorrhage in other locations, such as gingival bleeding or vaginal bleeding.

Thromboembolism

Arterial thromboembolism

An increased incidence of arterial thromboembolic reactions was observed in patients treated with bevacizumab across indications, including cerebrovascular accidents, myocardial infarction, transient ischaemic attacks, and other arterial thromboembolic reactions.

In clinical trials, the overall incidence of arterial thromboembolic reactions ranged up to 3.8% in the bevacizumab-containing arms compared with up to 2.1% in the chemotherapy control arms. Fatal outcome was reported in 0.8% of patients receiving bevacizumab compared to 0.5% in patients receiving chemotherapy alone. Cerebrovascular accidents (including transient ischaemic attacks) were reported in up to 2.7% of patients treated with bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy compared to up to 0.5% of patients treated with chemotherapy alone. Myocardial infarction was reported in up to 1.4% of patients treated with bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy compared to up to 0.7% of patients treated with chemotherapy alone.

In one clinical trial evaluating bevacizumab in combination with 5-fluorouracil/folinic acid, AVF2192g, patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who were not candidates for treatment with irinotecan were included. In this trial arterial thromboembolic reactions were observed in 11% (11/100) of patients compared to 5.8% (6/104) in the chemotherapy control group.

Venous thromboembolism

The incidence of venous thromboembolic reactions in clinical trials was similar in patients receiving bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy compared to those receiving the control chemotherapy alone. Venous thromboembolic reactions include deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and thrombophlebitis.

In clinical trials across indications, the overall incidence of venous thromboembolic reactions ranged from 2.8% to 17.3% of bevacizumab-treated patients compared with 3.2% to 15.6% in the control arms.

Grade 3-5 (NCI-CTCAE v.3) venous thromboembolic reactions have been reported in up to 7.8% of patients treated with chemotherapy plus bevacizumab compared with up to 4.9% in patients treated with chemotherapy alone (across indications, excluding persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer).

From a clinical trial in patients with persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer (study GOG-0240), grade 3-5 venous thromboembolic events have been reported in up to 15.6% of patients treated with bevacizumab in combination with paclitaxel and cisplatin compared with up to 7.0% of patients treated with paclitaxel and cisplatin.

Patients who have experienced a venous thromboembolic reaction may be at higher risk for a recurrence if they receive bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone.

Congestive heart failure (CHF)

In clinical trials with bevacizumab, congestive heart failure (CHF) was observed in all cancer indications studied to date, but occurred predominantly in patients with metastatic breast cancer. In four phase III trials (AVF2119g, E2100, BO17708 and AVF3694g) in patients with metastatic breast cancer CHF grade 3 (NCI-CTCAE v.3) or higher was reported in up to 3.5% of patients treated with bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy compared with up to 0.9% in the control arms. For patients in study AVF3694g who received anthracyclines concomitantly with bevacizumab, the incidences of grade 3 or higher CHF for the respective bevacizumab and control arms were similar to those in the other studies in metastatic breast cancer: 2.9% in the anthracycline + bevacizumab arm and 0% in the anthracycline + placebo arm. In addition, in study AVF3694g the incidences of all grade CHF were similar between the anthracycline + bevacizumab (6.2%) and the anthracycline + placebo arms (6.0%).

Most patients who developed CHF during mBC trials showed improved symptoms and/or left ventricular function following appropriate medical therapy.

In most clinical trials of bevacizumab, patients with pre-existing CHF of NYHA (New York Heart Association) II-IV were excluded. Therefore, no information is available on the risk of CHF in this population.

Prior anthracyclines exposure and/or prior radiation to the chest wall may be possible risk factors for the development of CHF.

An increased incidence of CHF has been observed in a clinical trial of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma when receiving bevacizumab with a cumulative doxorubicin dose greater than 300 mg/m². This phase III clinical trial compared rituximab/cyclophosphamide/doxorubicin/vincristine/prednisone (R-CHOP) plus bevacizumab to R-CHOP without bevacizumab. While the incidence of CHF was, in both arms, above that previously observed for doxorubicin therapy, the rate was higher in the R-CHOP plus bevacizumab arm. These results suggest that close clinical observation with appropriate cardiac assessments should be considered for patients exposed to cumulative doxorubicin doses greater than 300 mg/m² when combined with bevacizumab.

Hypersensitivity reactions/infusion reactions (see Post-marketing experience below)

In some clinical trials anaphylactic and anaphylactoid-type reactions were reported more frequently in patients receiving bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy than with chemotherapy alone. The incidence of these reactions in some clinical trials of bevacizumab is common (up to 5% in bevacizumab-treated patients).

Infections

From a clinical trial in patients with persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer (study GOG-0240), grade 3-5 infections have been reported in up to 24% of patients treated with bevacizumab in combination with paclitaxel and topotecan compared with up to 13% of patients treated with paclitaxel and topotecan.

Ovarian failure/fertility

In NSABP C-08, a phase III trial of bevacizumab in adjuvant treatment of patients with colon cancer, the incidence of new cases of ovarian failure, defined as amenorrhoea lasting 3 or more months, FSH level ≥30 mIU/mL and a negative serum β-HCG pregnancy test, has been evaluated in 295 premenopausal women. New cases of ovarian failure were reported in 2.6% patients in the mFOLFOX-6 group compared to 39% in the mFOLFOX-6 + bevacizumab group. After discontinuation of bevacizumab treatment, ovarian function recovered in 86.2% of these evaluable women. Long term effects of the treatment with bevacizumab on fertility are unknown.

Laboratory abnormalities

Decreased neutrophil count, decreased white blood cell count and presence of urine protein may be associated with bevacizumab treatment.

Across clinical trials, the following grade 3 and 4 (NCI-CTCAE v.3) laboratory abnormalities occurred in patients treated with bevacizumab with at least a 2% difference compared to the corresponding control groups: hyperglycaemia, decreased haemoglobin, hypokalaemia, hyponatraemia, decreased white blood cell count, increased international normalised ratio (INR).

Clinical trials have shown that transient increases in serum creatinine (ranging between 1.5-1.9 times baseline level), both with and without proteinuria, are associated with the use of bevacizumab. The observed increase in serum creatinine was not associated with a higher incidence of clinical manifestations of renal impairment in patients treated with bevacizumab.

Other special populations

Elderly patients

In randomised clinical trials, age >65 years was associated with an increased risk of developing arterial thromboembolic reactions, including cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs), transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs) and myocardial infarctions (MIs). Other reactions with a higher frequency seen in patients over 65 were grade 3-4 leukopenia and thrombocytopenia (NCI-CTCAE v.3); and all grade neutropenia, diarrhoea, nausea, headache and fatigue as compared to those aged ≤65 years when treated with bevacizumab. In one clinical trial, the incidence of hypertension of grade ≥ 3 was two-fold higher in patients aged >65 years than in the younger age group (<65 years). In a study of platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer patients, alopecia, mucosal inflammation, peripheral sensory neuropathy, proteinuria and hypertension were also reported and occurred at a rate at least 5% higher in the CT + BV arm for bevacizumab-treated patients ≥65 years of age compared with bevacizumab-treated patients aged <65 years.

No increase in the incidence of other reactions, including gastrointestinal perforation, wound healing complications, congestive heart failure, and haemorrhage was observed in elderly patients (>65 years) receiving bevacizumab as compared to those aged ≤65 years treated with bevacizumab.

Paediatric population

The safety and efficacy of bevacizumab in children less than 18 years old have not been established.

In study BO25041 of bevacizumab added to post-operative radiation therapy (RT) with concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide in paediatric patients with newly diagnosed supratentorial, infratentorial, cerebellar, or peduncular high-grade glioma, the safety profile was comparable with that observed in other tumour types in adults treated with bevacizumab.

In study BO20924 of bevacizumab with current standard of care in rhabdomyosarcoma and non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma, the safety profile of bevacizumab-treated children was comparable with that observed in adults treated with bevacizumab.

Alymsys is not approved for use in patients under the age of 18 years. In published literature reports, cases of non-mandibular osteonecrosis have been observed in patients under the age of 18 years treated with bevacizumab.

Post-marketing experience

Table 3. Adverse reactions reported in post-marketing setting:

^* If specified, the frequency has been derived from clinical trial data.

Reporting of suspected adverse reactions

Reporting suspected adverse reactions after authorisation of the medicinal product is important. It allows continued monitoring of the benefit/risk balance of the medicinal product. Healthcare professionals are asked to report any suspected adverse reactions via the national reporting system listed in Appendix V.