Avastin Approved for Most Common Type of Kidney Cancer

Genentech has received approval from the FDA for Avastin plus interferon-alfa for metastatic renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, kidney cancer is the eighth most commonly diagnosed cancer in the U.S.; nine out of ten people with kidney cancer have renal cell carcinoma.

“During the last five years, Avastin has been approved by the FDA to treat five different types of cancer,” said Hal Barron, M.D., executive vice president, Global Development and chief medical officer, Genentech. “We aim to help more people facing difficult-to-treat cancers and will continue studying Avastin in more than 30 other tumor types.”

Avastin is designed to block the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein, an underlying cause of cancer growth. Avastin works differently than other approved kidney cancer drugs because it specifically binds to the VEGF protein, which is produced in elevated amounts in most kidney cancers.

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