Avastin Uses (Cont.)

Avastin Uses for Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer is a disease in which cancerous cells originate in the tissue of the colon or rectum. Cancer that begins in the colon is called colon cancer, and cancer that begins in the rectum is called rectal cancer; colorectal cancer is another name for these forms of cancer.
 
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer in the United States. In recent years, the number of people diagnosed with the disease has stayed about the same, but the number of people who die from it has decreased. Colorectal cancer is found more often in men than in women. There are a number of possible symptoms of colorectal cancer, such as blood in the stool or unexplained weight loss. However, other conditions may cause the same symptoms (see Colorectal Cancer Symptoms for more information).
 
 
  • Surgery
  • Radiation therapy
  • Chemotherapy.
     
Some people have a combination of these treatments. Avastin is given along with chemotherapy in order to help chemotherapy work better. It is approved for use with chemotherapy regimens that contain 5-fluorouracil (5-FU, Adrucil®) to treat colon or rectal cancer that has spread to other parts of the body (known as metastatic cancer). It is approved for first-line or second-line treatment, which means it can be part of the first regimen that is tried, or it can be used after another regimen has failed.
 

How Does Avastin Work?

Avastin is part of a group of medications known as monoclonal antibodies. It is an antibody that is designed to bind to and inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). VEGF is a naturally occurring protein that encourages the growth of new blood vessels (including blood vessels that feed cancers). By binding to VEGF, Avastin prevents this protein from encouraging new blood vessel growth, essentially "starving" the cancer of its blood supply.
 
Because Avastin does not directly kill cells, it is not considered a chemotherapy medication and does not cause many of the usual chemotherapy side effects. However, it is approved only to be used in combination with chemotherapy.
 
(Avastin Uses Continued: Page 3)

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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;