Avastin label adds rare brain disorder warning

On September 25, 2006, Genentech, maker of the cancer drug Avastin (bevacizumab), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notified healthcare professionals that an additional warning was being added to the Avastin label. According to information in the March 2006 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, two women taking Avastin developed a rare brain condition called reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome (RPLS). According to the FDA's press release, RPLS causes symptoms such as headache, seizure, lethargy, confusion, high blood pressure, and blindness. Avastin, in combination with other chemotherapy, is used to treat cancer of the colon or rectum that has spread to other parts of the body.