A recent study conducted in Italy and China, led by researchers at the Karolinska Institute, found that the cancer therapy bevacizumab can accelerate recovery and reduce the mortality rate in people with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) . The research was published in the journal Nature Communications .
Bevacizumab has been used to treat different types of cancer since 2004 and works by reducing the formation of blood vessels through the inhibition of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling protein.
Patients with severe COVID-19 infection have been shown to have VEGF-related symptoms such as excess fluid and disorganized blood vessels in the lungs, as well as elevated levels of the growth factor.
The researchers behind the study recruited 26 patients from two hospitals in Italy and China who had a confirmed case of COVID-19 and exhibited symptoms of shortness of breath, pneumonia, and low blood oxygen levels. These patients were then retrospectively compared with another 26 patients with similar symptoms who received the current standard of care.
The recruited participants received standard care, as well as a single low dose of 7.5 mg/kg of bevacizumab. The findings showed that within 24 hours of receiving their therapy, patients experienced a significant improvement in their blood oxygen levels compared to the control group. After a 28-day follow-up, 92% of the treated arm no longer required the same amount of oxygen as at the start of the trial.
Furthermore, none of the participants who received the therapy died, and 65% improved to the point of being discharged from the hospital, compared to only 46% of the control group who were discharged. The duration of oxygen support was also reduced to a median of 9 days for the bevacizumab group.
“To reduce COVID-19 mortality, our goal is to develop an effective therapeutic paradigm for treating patients with severe COVID-19,” said Yihai Cao, professor of vascular biology in the Department of Microbiology, Cell and Tumor Biology at the Karolinska Institute and co-author of the study. “Our findings suggest that bevacizumab plus standard care is highly beneficial for patients with severe COVID-19 and should be considered as a potential first-line treatment regimen for this group.”
From: https://www.contagionlive.com/view/severe-covid-19-outcomes-may-be-improved-with-bevacizumab