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FDA approves use of drug for brain cancer treatment.

Highlights Use of Avastin approved under the FDA’s accelerated approval process. Drug treats type of brain cancer that is resistant to therapy.

In early May, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Avastin (bevacizumab) to treat glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a type of brain cancer that hasn't responded to other therapies.

Glioblastomas are fast-growing brain tumors that can invade normal brain tissue, which can make the cancer very difficult to treat. Genentech, Avastin’s manufacturer, is calling the drug the "first new treatment for glioblastoma in more than a decade."

"This type of cancer is very resistant to therapy and thus challenging to treat," said Richard Pazdur, MD, director of the Office of Oncology Drug Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "Avastin provides a therapy for patients with progressive GBM who have not responded to other medications."

The FDA approved Avastin for GBM under its accelerated approval process, which aims to make drugs for life-threatening diseases available more quickly.

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