April 15, 2008 (San Diego) -- Adding the cancer drug Avastin to standard treatment stopped cancer spread in 22 of 24 patients with rectal tumors, researchers report. The patients were given Avastin, chemotherapy, and radiation prior to surgery to have their tumors removed. Three years later, all the patients were alive and 91% had no signs their disease was getting worse. And none had new cancer growth in the area of the original tumor, says Rakesh Jain, PhD, the Andrew Werk Professor of Tumor Biology at Harvard Medical School.
