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In Loving Memory of My Beautiful Son Michael Born 21/9/1991 Passed On 29/9/2008   Anti-Cancer Drug Avastin Useless Against Breast Cancer, Declares FDA Friday, June 27, 2008 by: David Gutierrez Key concepts: Avastin, Cancer and Breast cancer        Email this article to a friend   Printable Version    FREE Email Newsletter   Breaking News from across the 'net: Probiotics Found to Block Pneumonia in Critically-Ill Patients Miracle Fat Loss "Drug" is Actually Resveratrol Nutrient Michigan Voters Pass Historical Medical Marijuana Law Rare Fungus Discovered that Converts Plant Cellulose to Diesel Fuel      See all Breaking News...     Get Our FREE Email Newsletter Receive natural health product reviews, recommendations and alerts. Instant download of 20+ free health reports and exclusive interviews. Join over 1.2 million monthly readers.   Unsubscribe anytime, email privacy guaranteed   Products Related to This Article* • Healing Cancer From the Inside Out (DVD) Amazing, eye-opening cancer documentary for anyone wanting to know the truth on cancer • Spirulina Pacifica Pure, pristine spirulina superfood for cancer prevention, alkalizing, immune func • Blood Support Halts growth of cancer tumors for breast cancer and all cancers * Recommended by the Health Ranger. See more recommendations on right ?     Articles Related to This Article: • Avastin cancer drug may cause brain bleeding, warns FDA • FDA Approves Breast Cancer Drug Avastin Despite Opposition by Advisory Panel • Genentech sets price gouging limit for Avastin cancer drug   NaturalNews) An FDA advisory panel has said that the drug Avastin should not be used to treat breast cancer, because it fails to provide enough benefit to outweigh the risks. Avastin, known generically as bevacizumab, has been approved for the treatment of colon and lung cancer. It is a major seller for producer Genentech, generating $1.7 billion for the company in the first nine months of 2007. An FDA review of the drug concluded that while Avastin appeared to lengthen the amount of time before a cancer became severe, it did not significantly lengthen the lives of patients. In addition, some patients taking the drugs experienced serious side effects, which may have led to death in five cases. In a clinical trial sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, researchers gave breast cancer patients either a combination of Avastin and the breast cancer drug paclitaxel (also marketed as Taxol) or just paclitaxel alone. They found that the drug combination nearly doubled the time before breast tumors worsened, from 5.8 months with paclitaxel alone to 11.3 months with the combination. Preliminary results of the study were released in April 2005, before the end of the study. But a complete analysis of the final data showed that there was no significant difference between how long patients lived whether they received both drugs or paclitaxel alone. In addition, while there were no treatment-related deaths in the group receiving only paclitaxel alone, there were five in the other group. One of these was a 64-year-old woman who died due to a serious infection and a bowel perforation, a known side effect of Avastin. The overall serious side effect rate in the paclitaxel-only group was 51 percent, compared with 71 percent in the dual-drug group. According to Genentech, paclitaxel treatment is normally stopped when tumors worsen. Because Avastin apparently lengthened the time before this happened, this may have unintentionally led to paclitaxel's toxic effects building up in the body, leading to the higher rate of side effects. Avastin is also known to have cardiovascular side effects. Get articles like this delivered to you FREE in our popular email newsletter   Related CounterThink Cartoons: