NICE Advises Against Using Avastin as a First-Line Cancer Treatment

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in UK said it did not recommend Avastin (bevacizumab) for the treatment of advanced breast cancer.

According to the opinion from the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), bevacizumab, also known as Avastin, should not be used as a first-line treatment for patients suffering metastatic breast cancer. NICE said there was insufficient evidence to suggest that the drug, manufactured by Hoffman-La Roche subsidiary Genentech, could extend a patient's life.

NICE chief executive Sir Andrew Dillon said, "The evidence for the effectiveness of bevacizumab in prolonging survival was not robust and overall did not show enough of a demonstrable benefit for it to be considered a cost-effective use of NHS resources."

Clinical data has susggested that, in breast cancer patients whose