A cancer medication already available for other cancers, such as breast cancer, has now been given the FDA-go ahead to be used for a type of brain cancer, called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).
Senator Edward Kennedy was diagnosed last year with brain cancer called glioma. GBM is the most advanced of this type of brain cancer.
The FDA reported yesterday:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved Avastin (bevacizumab) to treat patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) when this form of brain cancer continues to progress following standard therapy.
GBM is a rapidly progressing cancer that invades brain tissue and can impact physical activities …read more

Bevacizumab is a biologic anti-cancer agent that prevents tumor growth by interfering with the formation of new blood vessels.
Now, a new study found that bevacizumab may have the potential to improve the efficacy of standard combination chemotherapy in ovarian cancer.
Ovarian cancer or cancer of the ovary is the fifth most common cancer in women and I reckon one of the deadliest.
Almost 70% of ovarian cancer patients fail to win against the disease despite chemotherapy.
According to Dr. Bram Goldstein, co-author of the study, whose findings are published in Vol. 17 Issue 4 of International Journal of Gynecological Cancer:
“The results from our …read more

A relatively new cancer drug – Avastin (bevacizumab) – currently used in treatment of lung and colorectal cancers, has recently been found to slow the growth of the most common and deadly form of brain cancer -gliomas.
Such is the finding of a Duke University Medical Center pilot study in which the researchers tested the effectiveness of Avastin in conjunction with a standard chemotherapy agent in patients with recurrent cancerous brain tumors called gliomas.
…found that the two drugs together halted tumor growth up to twice as long as comparative therapies.
Though gliomas remain incurable in nearly all cases, the combined drug therapy …read more

The Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) has applauded the USFDA on its recent approval of Avastin (bevacizumab) for the most common type of lung cancer.
Laurie Fenton, President of Lung Cancer Alliance in Washington, D.C. stated:
“Lung cancer is responsible for over one-third of all U.S. cancer deaths, killing more people than breast, prostate, colon, liver and kidney cancers combined each year.
Sadly, we have few arrows in our treatment quiver to address this lethal killer. That is why the ability to use Avastin as a treatment method, along with chemotherapy, is a significant development for the lung cancer community.”

Manufactured by Genentech, Inc. (NYSE: DNA), …read more