IMPORTANT NEWS FOR COLON CANCER PATIENTS DURING
NATIONAL COLORECTAL CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
Researchers Are Making Headway In The Battle Against One Of The Leading Causes
Of Cancer Death
SUGGESTED ANCHOR LEAD:
MARCH IS NATIONAL COLORECTAL CANCER AWARENESS MONTH, AN IMPORTANT
TIME TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE SECOND DEADLIEST FORM OF CANCER IN
THE UNITED STATES. THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY ESTIMATES THAT MORE
THAN 150,000 AMERICANS WILL BE DIAGNOSED WITH METASTATIC COLORECTAL
CANCER THIS YEAR ALONE. FOR THOSE DIAGNOSED, TARGETED THERAPIES ARE
SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVING SURVIVAL WHEN USED IN COMBINATION WITH
CHEMOTHERAPY. LAST FEBRUARY, THE FDA APPROVED A TREATMENT CALLED
AVASTIN™ (BEVACIZUMAB) TO BE USED IN COMBINATION WITH INTRAVENOUS 5FLUOROURACIL-BASED CHEMOTHERAPY AS A TREATMENT FOR PATIENTS WITH
FIRST-LINE, OR PREVIOUSLY UNTREATED, METASTATIC CANCER OF THE COLON OR
RECTUM. AVASTIN WORKS BY STARVING THE CANCEROUS TUMOR OF ITS
ESSENTIAL BLOOD SUPPLY. SINCE ITS APPROVAL, AVASTIN HAS PROVIDED A
TREATMENT OPTION FOR THOUSANDS OF COLORECTAL CANCER PATIENTS IN THE
UNITED STATES.
DANIELLE ADDAIR HAS MORE.
VIDEO
Video footage of Grace
reading with granddaughter
AUDIO
IN 2002, GRACE VANHOOSE,
GRANDMOTHER OF 3, WAS DIAGNOSED
WITH METASTATIC COLORECTAL
CANCER.
Grace Vanhoose
Avastin Patient
“My initial reaction was, okay, so what do we
do now?”
Video footage of Grace
walking with husband
IN ANSWER TO HER QUESTION, GRACE’S
DOCTOR ENROLLED HER IN A STUDY
EVALUATING AVASTIN, THE FIRST
APPROVED COLORECTAL CANCER
TREATMENT THAT WORKS BY STARVING
THE TUMOR OF ITS ESSENTIAL BLOOD
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Grace Vanhoose
Avastin Patient
Grace Lifestyle footage
Grace on cam
SUPPLY.
“Through the process of chemo with Avastin,
my tumors have shrunk. “Since I’ve been
taking Avastin, I’ve been able to attend
weddings, family reunions, the birth of our
grandchildren, and without it, I don’t think I
would have been able to do any of those
things.”
Richard Goldberg, M.D.
Prof. and Chief of
Hematology/Oncology Assoc.
Dir. for Clinical Research,
Lineberger Comprehensive
Cancer Ctr., UNC at Chapel
Hill
Avastin product shot
“By using an anti-angiogenesis strategy, we’re
trying to prevent the growth of new blood
vessels into those tumors. By doing that, we
starve the tumors for blood; the tumors can’t
grow as quickly.”
Grace Vanhoose
Avastin Patient
Video of Grace sitting at
kitchen table with family
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT
COLORECTAL CANCER OR TREATMENT,
PLEASE SPEAK WITH YOUR PHYSICIAN.
INFORMATION IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON
THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
WEBSITE AT WWW.CANCER.ORG.
I’M DANIELLE ADDAIR.
APPROVED IN 2004, AVASTIN HAS
PROVIDED PHYSICIANS AND COLON
CANCER PATIENTS WITH A DIFFERENT
TREATMENT OPTION. AVASTIN IS
APPROVED IN CONJUNCTION WITH
INTRAVENOUS 5-FU-BASED
CHEMOTHERAPY AS A FIRST-LINE
TREATMENT FOR METASTATIC
COLORECTAL CANCER.
SUGGESTED ANCHOR TAG: For full prescribing information, please visit
http://www.AVASTIN.com or call Genentech at 800-821-8590.
Extra Soundbites:
Richard Goldberg, M.D.
Prof. and Chief of Hematology/Oncology Assoc. Dir. for Clinical Research,
Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Ctr., UNC at Chapel Hill
“This was the first time that a drug targeted at blood vessel formation was proven to
work in any setting of advanced cancer.”
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“It offers hope for another option of treatment in a disease where the treatment options
are limited.”
Extra B-Roll
Facts about Colorectal Cancer:
According to the American Cancer Society, more than 150 patients die every day from
colorectal cancer in the United States. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of
cancer death in the United States, the third most frequently diagnosed cancer, and
approximately 150,000 new cases of colorectal cancer are expected to be diagnosed in
the United States in 2005.
Colorectal cancer begins in either the colon or the rectum. The colon and rectum form
part of the body’s digestive system, which separates nutrients and waste from food and
stores the latter until it can be passed out of the body. About 95 percent of colorectal
cancers are adenocarcinomas, which are cancers of the cells lining the inside of the
colon and rectum.
Risk factors include: a family history of colorectal cancer, previous incidence of
colorectal cancer, history of intestinal polyps, history of chronic inflammatory bowel
disease, obesity and a high fat diet. Colorectal cancers are rare in young people. They
usually occur in men and women over the age of 50.
Facts About Avastin:
Avastin (bevacizumab) is designed to suppress tumor vascular growth by binding to
and inhibiting the activity of the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) protein.
VEGF, a molecule first identified and cloned by a team of scientists at Genentech led by
Napoleone Ferrara, M.D., is a key mediator of the pathway that controls the formation of
new blood vessels, a process known as angiogenesis. In the absence of VEGF protein,
it is believed that tumor cells cannot induce the formation of new blood vessels and the
tumor is starved of oxygen and nutrients, leading to tumor cell death and, potentially,
reduction in tumor mass. Avastin is in Phase III trials in several types of metastatic
cancer, including colorectal cancer, renal cell carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer and
breast cancer.
Avastin therapy has been associated with side effects. Serious side effects occur
rarely, but can include gastrointestinal perforation wound healing complications,
hemorrhage, arterial thromboembolic events, hypertensive crisis, nephrotic syndrome,
and congestive heart failure. Common side effects can include high blood pressure,
tiredness, diarrhea, decreased white blood cells and pain. Patients should always
consult their healthcare professional regarding the benefits and risks of therapy.
Full Prescribing Information [SCROLL]
For full prescribing information, including Boxed Warnings for Avastin, please call 1800-821-8590 or visit www.gene.com.
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