Avastin is a modern drug against tumors. It is used to treat various cancers, help to suppress the appearance of metastases, reduce microvascular permeability and stop the further development of the disease. Many people with cancer are currently being treated with Avastin. Reviews about it are different. There are examples of positive dynamics in the treatment of diseases, a lot of reviews about the uselessness of the drug. Avastin causes serious side effects in some people.
Composition
The main active ingredient of Avastin is bevacizumab. The drug is sold in the form of a concentrate, from which a solution for intravenous infusion is made. "Avastin" is colorless or has a light brown color. On sale you can find two types of "Avastin", differing in the concentration of the main active ingredient: 100 mg / 4 ml and 400 mg / 16 ml.
Indications
The drug is indicated for the following diseases:
- Breast cancer in the last stages, when they beginmetastases.
- Renal cell carcinoma.
- Colon cancer.
- Non-small cell lung cancer.
- Glioblastoma (recurrent).
- Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), macular tumor, diabetic rhinopathy.
- Currently, the use of "Avastin" in ophthalmology is gaining momentum. Feedback on the treatment of eye diseases associated with pathological vascular growth is positive.
Contraindications for use
In accordance with the instructions for the drug, it is not recommended to use "Avastin" in such cases:
- If the patient has hypersensitivity to one of the components contained in the preparation.
- When pregnant and breastfeeding. Studies of the effect of "Avastin" on this category of patients have not been conducted. It is known that the substances of the drug penetrate the placenta, which can lead to suppression of fetal angiogenesis. Women of childbearing age are advised to use reliable contraception for at least six months after the end of treatment with this drug. In addition, if Avastin therapy is necessary, it is recommended to stop breastfeeding, as it can cause growth and developmental disorders in the newborn. However, this has not been scientifically proven.
- Children's age.
- With kidney and liver failure. Studies of the effect of the drug on this category of patients have not been conducted.
Adverse reactions
Some patients experienced side effects whenwas treated with Avastin. Reviews suggest that drug reactions can be quite severe:
- Gastrointestinal perforation.
- Hemorrhages, including pulmonary.
- Arterial thromboembolism.
Also contains other side effects on the drug "Avastin" instructions for use. Reviews about them can be found quite often. This is:
- Increased blood pressure.
- Appearance of pain and bloating in the abdomen.
- Feeling weak.
- Asthenia.
- Heart failure.
- Neutropenia, leukopenia, anemia.
- Appearance of nausea, vomiting, stomatitis.
- Development of anorexia.
- Rectal bleeding.
- Hypoxia.
- Intestinal obstruction.
- Rhinitis, shortness of breath.
- Skin becomes dry and discolored.
- Impaired vision.
- Weakness in muscles.
- Development of a urinary tract infection.
- Body temperature rises.
- Pain with different localization.
- Sepsis - infection of the body.
- Hemoglobin levels drop.
Special Instructions
During treatment with Avastin and at the end of its use, it is recommended to use contraceptives for another six months. The appointment of the drug, as well as the determination of its dosage, can only be done by an experienced qualified specialist. The drug is incompatible with dextrose solution.
Application
The drug "Avastin" is administered exclusively in/in drip, introduction in/injet is strictly prohibited. The dosage depends on the type of disease. The Avastin solution must be made exclusively under conditions of maximum sterility. The desired dosage of "Avastin" should be diluted to 100 ml with a solution of sodium chloride 0.9% (for patients with a large weight, the total volume should be 200-250 ml).
The first Avastin infusion should last for 90 minutes. The drug should be used after chemotherapy. If he came up after the first injection, then the second time the infusion can be done for 60 minutes, and the third time - 30 minutes. If side effects occur, the developers do not recommend reducing the dose of the drug. If necessary, then you need to suspend treatment with Avastin for a while or stop it altogether.
Overdose
When Avastin is administered at the maximum dosage (20 mg/kg of body weight with an interval of 2 weeks), patients may experience overdose symptoms. Some patients had severe migraine attacks. Side effects may have increased.
Storage conditions
The storage temperature of the drug is 2-8 degrees Celsius. Shelf life is a maximum of 24 hours. Avastin should not be frozen and shaken. The solution does not contain preservatives, so if it remains, it must be destroyed.
Controversial points: positive and negative reviews about the drug. Who to trust?
The drug "Avastin", reviews of which are both positive and absolutelynegative, every year more and more often prescribed by doctors. It has been scientifically proven to be clinically effective in the treatment of many types of cancer.
You can judge the effectiveness of the treatment of patients by reading the information about the treatment with Avastin. Patient reviews will be considered in more detail later.
This medicine has a rather high price. On average, it starts from 15 thousand rubles. Therefore, when patients with serious illnesses are faced with the appointment of this drug by their doctor, they immediately begin to look for information about the drug "Avastin", reviews of patients using this drug, as well as instructions for its use.
Most often you can find information about the unauthorized treatment of "Avastin" extremely severe cases. We must not forget that the doctor does not always prescribe the drug, carefully evaluating all the nuances that the instruction fixes to the Avastin drug. Reviews of the positive effect of the drug in these cases are rare. You need to be attentive to your he alth and remember that the treatment of serious diseases such as cancer should only be carried out by a highly qualified specialist.
In each specific situation, there are many reasons why "Avastin" could not suit the patient and not alleviate the course of the disease. Therefore, you need to think objectively, and not be guided only by negative reviews.
Let's consider some opinions about the treatment with this drug.
Reviews about the drug "Avastin"
As noted above,reviews about this drug are very contradictory. However, many patients note that significant progress is being made in the treatment of the disease. Some people experience a decrease in the size of the tumor. But, unfortunately, a complete recovery should not be expected. Avastin can only prolong the patient's life and make it more comfortable.
Described a lot of cases of side effects. The most frequently observed increase in headaches, jumps in blood pressure. Injections of Avastin into the eye in some patients led to impaired vision and even total blindness.
In the US, there was a serious scandal over the use of "Avastin" for the treatment of macular degeneration. Injections of the drug into the vitreous body led to the appearance of a full set of side effects. At the same time, serious infections were introduced into the eyeball in 16 patients. Some have developed total blindness. But Avastin continues to be used both in the US and in Europe. Such widespread off-label use of the drug is not due to illegal promotion, but to the cheapness of the drug compared to legal Lucentis, approved for the treatment of retinal dystrophy.
The difference in the price of these drugs is significant. While Avastin is priced at $50 in the US, Lucentis is priced at $2,000. Note that in terms of the occurrence of complications and side effects, as well as the development of endophthalmitis, Lucentis is not ideal. That is why many people take risks and buy unofficialAvastin.
According to many doctors, it's all about the technique of administering funds. Research needs to be done in this area. Some of them have already been made. Thus, a comparison was made of the action of bevacizumab and ranibizumab (active substances Avastin and Lucentis, respectively). There were two studies, but the results were controversial, because the first was safer than bevacizumab, and during the second ranibizumab.
To date, in Russia, the drug is banned for use in ophthalmology. But you can still find a seller and a doctor who will inject. Ophthalmologists prefer inexpensive Avastin, as commerce continues to flourish in domestic medicine. After all, it is much easier to draw the patient's attention to a cheaper option.
It should also be noted that many patients with AMD experienced significant improvements after they received Avastin injections in the eye. Feedback on the dynamics of treatment is positive. After several injections of the drug, the swelling of the eye subsided, there was an improvement in visual acuity. Therapy does not give a positive effect immediately, but after the side effects pass. In addition, it is completely pointless to expect a visible positive effect after the first injection of the drug.
"Avastin" + chemotherapy: reviews, treatment
In contrast to the conflicting reviews about the use of the drug in ophthalmology, studies have shown the effectiveness of "Avastin" in conjunction withchemotherapy in the treatment of colorectal cancer. When using standard chemotherapy regimens, Avastin helps to reduce the size of the colon tumor. In addition, this therapy leads to the disappearance of liver metastases in 78% of patients. As a result, about a third of the patients received the opportunity to undergo an operation that, if the situation is positive, can save their lives.
The study also found Avastin to be just as effective in older patients as it is in younger patients.
Used with capecitabine, it can increase the life expectancy of colorectal cancer patients by three to five years.
Also helps to prolong life and reduce the formation of metastases in breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer, this combination: "Avastin" + chemotherapy. Feedback on this treatment is positive. However, the situation is similar: the likelihood of a full recovery is minimal.
Clinical efficacy
- Colorectal Cancer - Combining Avastin with IFL (irinotecan, fluorouracil, leucovorin) prolongs survival by approximately 5 months. The use of "Avastin" along with chemotherapy allows you to increase life expectancy by about 4 months.
- Metastatic breast cancer. Infusions of "Avastin" 10 mg / kg with a break of 2 weeks, together with paclitaxel, significantly increase the possibility of stopping the development of the disease. This treatment greatly improveseffect of chemotherapy.
- Non-small cell lung cancer. Treatment with Avastin along with chemotherapy (which is based on a platinum drug) increase the chance of survival and increase life expectancy.
- Renal cell carcinoma. The use of Avastin together with interferon alfa-2a prolongs the survival period compared with the use of only interferon alfa-2a.
- The fourth stage of malignant glioma. After preliminary radiation therapy, treatment with "Avastin" allows you to extend life by almost six months.
Thus, "Avastin" is a modern drug designed to treat various tumors. The effect of the drug has not yet been fully studied. However, doctors are increasingly prescribing it for many types of cancer.
Avastin is also used in ophthalmology, where it gives the most pronounced positive effect in the treatment of AMD. The drug is quite expensive, besides, it can cause many side effects. In general, reviews after using Avastin are positive, but there are also negative ones.
For some patients, Avastin was completely useless, and for some it caused serious side effects. Therefore, only a qualified doctor should prescribe the drug, with the obligatory consideration of all possible individual reactions of the patient to the components of the drug. In addition, infusions must be carried out under sterile conditions. Cancer is a serious disease that can be fatal. The use of Avastin is notgives a 100% guarantee of a cure, but it can stop the progression of the disease and prolong the life of the patient. And this is already a big deal for patients with terminal diseases!
