MASON CITY, IA - North Iowa doctors talk about how they plan to treat breast cancer patients, now that an FDA panel recommends the withdrawl of approval of the popular drug avastin.
Last week we told you an FDA panel voted 12 to 1 that the risks and side effects of avastin outweighed its benefits when used alongside chemotherapy.
Doctors at the Mercy Cancer Center in Mason City say they're very careful about which patients can receive Avastin.
Arvind Vemula, M.D., with the Mercy Cancer Center says, "Everybody who gets on Avastin, we do see a rise in their blood pressure, they do feel more fatigued, they seem to have more side effects than just with chemotherapy alone, so we have to be selective not only in terms of who gets it, but be mindful of a patient's abilities in terms of using it."
Doctor Vemula says Avastin is also used to treat patients with brain, colorectal and kidney cancers.
