Hope Still Held for Avastin as Drug for Advanced Colorectal Cancer

Despite disappointing results in patients with advanced breast cancer, the angiogenesis inhibitor Avastin may still prove to be an effective first-line treatment for advanced colorectal cancer, according to researchers for its manufacturer Genentech.

Genentech announced this week that it was "disappointed" with the results of the 462-patient study of Avastin for metastatic breast cancer patients, but continued to hold high hopes for a Phase III trial with 900 colon cancer patients.

Results from the colorectal cancer trial are expected to be available next year.

"We have much stronger data in colorectal cancer than we had in breast cancer," said Gwen Fyfe, senior director for oncology affairs.

In an an earlier clinical trial, she said, advanced colon cancer patients treated with a combination of Avastin and standard chemotherapy drugs lived 3.5 months longer than patients on chemotherapy alone.

Avastin works by disrupting one of the protein switches that spurs blood vessel growth. The drug doesn't cause tumors to die but slows their growth by pruning the thicket of blood vessels that feed cancerous cells.

Other Sources: Genentech