Systematic review: bevacizumab combined with radiotherapy regimen in NSCLC patients, modulating VEGF/VEGFR2 signaling

doi:10.5246/jcps.2024.12.083

Abstract

Abstract:

To assess the efficacy of radiotherapy combined with bevacizumab compared to radiotherapy alone in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to explore its impact on anti-tumor neovascularization, we conducted a retrospective analysis of 100 NSCLC patients treated in the oncology department of our hospital from January 2020 to January 2021. The control group (n = 50) received conservative treatment with chemotherapy, while the observation group (n = 50) underwent treatment with bevacizumab combined with radiotherapy. Clinical data were collected from patient records. Levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 in serum were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The therapeutic outcomes of both groups were assessed based on established evaluation criteria. The Lung Cancer Symptom Scale and Lung Cancer Treatment Function were utilized to evaluate patients’ quality of life. Patients were followed up for 2 years, and survival rates were analyzed. Our findings revealed that serum levels of VEGF, VEGFR1, and VEGFR2 in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Additionally, the observation group exhibited higher rates of complete response, partial response, and disease control compared to the control group (P < 0.05), along with a lower rate of disease progression (P < 0.05). The Lung Cancer Symptom Scale score was lower in the observation group compared to the control group (P < 0.05), while the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung (FACT-L) score and Total Outcome Index (TOI) were higher (P < 0.05), indicating a superior quality of life in the observation group. At 6 months, there was no significant difference in survival rates between the two groups (P > 0.05); however, at 12, 18, and 24 months, the observation group demonstrated higher survival rates than the control group (P < 0.05). The median survival time of the observation group (20 months) was significantly longer than that of the control group (15 months, P < 0.05). In conclusion, the combination of bevacizumab and radiotherapy led to the down-regulation of VEGF and VEGFR expression in NSCLC patients, thereby inhibiting tumor angiogenesis, enhancing patient quality of life, and prolonging overall survival.

Key words: one, Bevacizumab combined with radiotherapy, NSCLC, VEGF, VEGFR, Clinical effect

Supporting:

Zhangpeng Song, Feng Zhou, Yangyong Zhang, Jie Zhang, Yuan Feng. Systematic review: bevacizumab combined with radiotherapy regimen in NSCLC patients, modulating VEGF/VEGFR2 signaling[J]. Journal of Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2024, 33(12): 1137-1145.

Figures/Tables 6

Table 1. Clinical data statistics of patients (x ± s).

Table 2. Analysis of serum VEGF and VEGFR levels (x ± s, pg/mL).

Table 3. Clinical treatment effect analysis (x ± s, %).

Table 4. HRQOL analysis of quality of life (x ± s, %).

Table 5. Analysis of 2-year survival rate of patients (x ± s, %).

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