Bevacizumab followed by chemotherapy is potential therapy for gastric cancer

To investigate the antitumor effects of the angiogenesis inhibitor bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy, and the application of in vivo imaging technology of growth of fluorescence-labelled gastric cancer (GC) in nude mice.

Twenty-five nude mice were randomly divided into 5 groups (A-E). Subcutaneous xenograft of human MGC803 cells was transplanted to nude mice, followed by different treatments for the groups, including A (bevacizumab combined with chemotherapy), B (24-h chemotherapy with FP followed by bevacizumab), C (bevacizumab 24-h followed by FP chemotherapy), D (bevacizumab only) and E (normal saline). Then, dynamic variation of tumor growth during 4 weeks was evaluated by calculating the tumor inhibition rate and fluorescence signal strength by in vivo imaging system.

After 28-day treatment, fluorescence signal strength in the groups A-D changed significantly compared with the E (control) group, while tumor inhibition rate in C group was highest (68.42%). Furthermore, on the 4th week, the fluorescence signal value in C group was lowest.

Administration of bevacizumab followed by chemotherapy was more effective therapeutic method for GC. The in vivo imaging could show off dynamic variation of tumors and was a sensitive and objective detection method.