An Introduction to Avastin Side Effects
As with any medicine, side effects are possible with
Avastin® (
bevacizumab); however, not everyone who takes the drug will experience problems. If side effects do occur, in most cases, they are minor and either require no treatment or can be treated easily by you or your healthcare provider.
(This article covers many, but not all, of the possible side effects with Avastin. Your healthcare provider can discuss a more complete list with you.)
Common Side Effects of Avastin
Avastin has been studied thoroughly in clinical trials, in which a group of people taking the drug have side effects documented and compared to another group not taking the medicine. Because Avastin is designed to be used in combination with chemotherapy (for most uses), these studies usually compared chemotherapy plus Avastin to chemotherapy alone. Therefore, reported side effects could be due to either Avastin or chemotherapy.
In these studies, the most common side effects seen with Avastin plus chemotherapy that occurred more frequently than
side effects of chemotherapy alone included:
- Scaly, peeling skin -- in up to 84 percent of people
- High blood pressure (hypertension) -- up to 67 percent
- Abdominal pain (stomach pain) -- up to 61 percent
- General weakness -- up to 57 percent
- Infections -- up to 55 percent
- Vomiting -- up to 52 percent
- Upper respiratory tract infection (such as the common cold) -- up to 47 percent
- Fatigue -- up to 45 percent
- Loss of appetite -- up to 43 percent.
Care must be taken when interpreting these numbers. With many of these side effects, most of the cases were likely caused by chemotherapy, not Avastin, although the drug may slightly increase the risk of such side effects. Your healthcare provider is the best source for information about the side effects you can expect with your particular combination of medications.
Other common side effects of Avastin plus chemotherapy (occurring in 2 to 40 percent of people) included:
