Name of the Trial
Phase III Randomized Study of Adjuvant Chemotherapy with or without Bevacizumab in Patients with Completely Resected Stage IB-IIIA Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (ECOG-E1505). See the protocol summary at http://cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/ECOG-E1505.

Principal Investigators
Dr. Heather Wakelee, Dr. Alan Sandler, and Dr. Steven Keller, ECOG; Dr. David Gandara and Dr. Eric Vallieres, SWOG; Dr. Stephen Graziano and Dr. Richard Battafarano, CALGB; Dr. Charles Butts, NCIC-Clinical Trials Group; and Dr. Alex Adjei, NCCTG

Why This Trial Is Important
More Americans die each year from lung cancer than from breast, colon, and prostate cancer combined. Although surgery can be curative, many patients will experience a relapse and eventually die from their disease. Consequently, doctors often give chemotherapy after surgery (adjuvant chemotherapy) in an attempt to kill any remaining cancer cells.

The addition of the monoclonal antibody bevacizumab ¹ (Avastin) to chemotherapy has helped extend the lives of some patients with inoperable advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Now doctors are interested in determining whether the addition of bevacizumab to adjuvant chemotherapy can help patients with early NSCLC live longer following surgery to remove their tumors.

Bevacizumab blocks the activity of a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which promotes the growth of blood vessels (angiogenesis) to tumors. Angiogenesis is essential for tumors to get the oxygen and nutrients they need to grow bigger than a few millimeters.

"Bevacizumab in addition to chemotherapy is proven to help people with advanced lung cancer live longer," said Dr. Wakelee. "Because of the way this agent works, we're hopeful that giving it along with chemotherapy to patients with completely resected early-stage lung cancer will help block the development of advanced disease and possibly produce a cure for some of these patients."

Who Can Join This Trial
Researchers seek to enroll 1,500 adult patients with stage IB-IIIA NSCLC that has been completely removed by surgery. See the list of eligibility criteria at http://cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/ECOG-E1505.

Study Sites and Contact Information
Study sites in the United States are recruiting patients for this trial. See the list of study contacts at http://cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/ECOG-E1505 or call NCI's Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237) for more information. The toll-free call is confidential.