Bevacizumab chemotherapy for management of pulmonary and laryngotracheal papillomatosis in a child

Recurrent laryngeal papillomatosis (RRP) can be a devastating condition for a child to endure, and pulmonary involvement may have terminal consequences. Adjuvant therapies have been trialed and reported over the years; however, these chemotherapy options have not been successful.

Bevacizumab (Avastin, Genetech Inc., South San Francisco, CA) is a vascular endothelial factor (VEGF) inhibitor that has shown promise in the management of papillomatosis. Most research has focused on intralesional injections of this antiangiogenic drug. The systemic use of bevacizumab is not as well described.

This is a case report of a 12-year-old female diagnosed with severe laryngotracheal papillomatosis near birth who underwent a tracheostomy tube placement at 1 year of age. She required weekly debridements to prevent tracheal obstruction. When lung involvement was diagnosed at 1 year of age, cidofovir was started intravenously. Over the course of the past 10 years, the patient was managed with celecoxib (Celebrex, Pfizer, New York, NY), anti-reflux medications, zithromycin, propranolol, Gardasil (Merck and Co., Kenilworth, NJ), and a 7-year course of interferon-alpha.

Intravenous bevacizumab was started when the patient's pulmonary status deteriorated. There was remarkable improvement in her laryngotracheal disease within 6 weeks of therapy. Following 3 months of bevacizumab, the patient's disease was completely resolved at the laryngeal level and nearly gone in the trachea, and she was decannulated. A computed scan was performed following 5 months of intravenous bevacizumab, and the pulmonary RRP nodules completely resolved. The patient had no major or minor complication from the chemotherapy to date.

Systemic Bevacizumab is a promising modality of adjuvant therapy for significant papillomatosis. Laryngoscope, 2016

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