Multicenter phase 2 trial of nab-paclitaxel plus bevacizumab for metastatic extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma

A multicenter phase 2 trial in China evaluated the combination of nab-paclitaxel and bevacizumab in patients with previously treated advanced extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma (EP-NEC). The objective response rate was 55% (95% CI 43-67) and the disease control rate was 87% (77-94); the median duration of response was 5.7 months (3.3-7.2). After a median follow-up of 22.4 months (IQR 14.7-42.9), median progression-free survival and overall survival were 5.3 months (95% CI 4.2-6.6) and 12.8 months (8.6-17.4), respectively. Most common grade ≥ 3 treatment-related adverse events were neutropenia (35% of patients) and leukopenia (19%). The authors conclude that the combination of nab-paclitaxel and bevacizumab demonstrated encouraging antitumor activity and tolerable toxicity in patients with previously treated EP-NEC.