US Pharm. 2011;36(12):10.
Bethesda, MD—FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, has announced that the agency is revoking its approval of the breast cancer indication for Avastin (bevacizumab). “After reviewing the available studies it is clear that women who take Avastin for metastatic breast cancer risk potentially life-threatening side effects without proof that the use of Avastin will provide a benefit, in terms of delay in tumor growth, that would justify those risks,” said Dr. Hamburg. Avastin’s risks include severe high blood pressure, bleeding and hemorrhaging, heart attack or heart failure, and the development of perforations in the nose, stomach, and intestines. Avastin will remain on the market as an approved treatment for certain types of brain, colon, lung, and kidney cancer.
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