Recently, a report came out from Health Canada possibly linking Avastin, a drug for colorectal cancer, with tracheo-esophageal fistula (an abnormal connection between the esophagus and the trachea).This week, the manufacturer of Avastin, Roche's Genentech, has warned healthcare providers that Avastin has caused at least one fatality in a recent clinical study in patients with small cell lung cancer, according to the FDA. Genentech stopped the trial after the individual's death.
There are no plan to "re-engineer" the drug for the treatment of SCLC although other programs will go forward including those for non small cell lung cancer and kidney cancer, according to a Roche spokeswoman.
The FDA said there were two confirmed events of TE fistula, one fatal and another death in which TE fistula was suspected. Six other cases of TE fistula have also been reported in other lung and esophageal cancer studies.
Symptoms of TE fistula included chest pain, shortness of breath, wheezing or labored breathing, coughing or choking when eating or drinking, coughing up food or liquids, or wheezing sounds following every breath.
