Avastin is no longer approved for treating metastatic breast cancer because it exposes patients to dangerous side effects without any benefit, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday.
The FDA noted that Avastin's risks include severely high blood pressure, bleeding, heart attacks, and perforations in such body parts as the nose, stomach, and intestines.
"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," FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg said. "Nor is there evidence that use of Avastin will either help them live longer or improve their quality of life."
