EU backs broader label for Avastin in breast cancer

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG said on Wednesday the European Commission had approved the broader use of Avastin in the first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer.

The broader label approval of the cancer drug will allow physicians to treat breast cancer in combination with docetaxel as well as with paclitaxel chemotherapy.

Avastin was already approved in Europe for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced breast cancer in combination with paclitaxel in March 2007, Roche said.