The short answer
Avastin (Bevacizumab) is a targeted therapy that blocks tumor blood-vessel growth. It blocks a signal (VEGF) that tumors use to grow new blood vessels, which can slow a tumor's blood supply and its growth. It is used to help treat colorectal cancer and some lung, kidney, and other cancers, and is usually given as an IV infusion, usually with chemotherapy. Like all cancer medicines it can cause side effects; this page explains the common ones and the warning signs to report. It is educational only and not a substitute for your care team's advice.
Avastin is the brand name; its generic name is bevacizumab.
It is a targeted therapy that blocks tumor blood-vessel growth — it blocks a signal (VEGF) that tumors use to grow new blood vessels, which can slow a tumor's blood supply and its growth.
It is used to help treat colorectal cancer and some lung, kidney, and other cancers.
It is usually given as an IV infusion, usually with chemotherapy.
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The full explanation.
Cutting off a tumor's blood supply
Avastin is the brand name. Bevacizumab is the generic name. A tumor grows its own blood vessels by sending out a signal called VEGF. This antibody mops that signal up. Fewer new vessels form, and some existing ones shrink back.
It is nearly always given alongside something else: chemotherapy, interferon, or another antibody. It goes into a vein. The first drip runs over about 90 minutes, and later ones can be shorter if you tolerate it. Several near-copies exist, called biosimilars, sold under names such as Mvasi, Zirabev and Vegzelma. They are used in the same way.
Where it is approved, and one place it is not
- Bowel cancer that has spread, first or second line, with fluorouracil-based chemotherapy.
- Non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer that surgery cannot remove, first line, with carboplatin and paclitaxel.
- Glioblastoma that has come back, in adults.
- Kidney cancer that has spread, with interferon alfa.
- Cervical cancer that is persistent, recurrent or spreading, with paclitaxel plus either cisplatin or topotecan.
- Ovarian, fallopian tube and primary peritoneal cancer, in three separate settings.
- Liver cancer that surgery cannot remove, with atezolizumab, as the first drug treatment.
The label also states a limit outright. Avastin is not indicated as extra treatment after surgery for colon cancer. Trials in that setting did not show a benefit.
Surgery, wounds and timing
This drug slows healing, because healing needs new blood vessels. The label asks for a gap of at least 28 days before planned surgery. After a major operation it asks for at least 28 days, and for the wound to have healed properly, before starting again. Tell every doctor and dentist you see. That includes before a tooth is taken out, a port is placed, or a biopsy is done.
Blood pressure and protein in the urine
Two things get checked at almost every visit. Blood pressure often rises and may need tablets. Urine is dipped for protein, which is a sign the kidneys are under strain. Both can usually be managed, and both need catching early. Do not stop or start a blood pressure medicine without telling the team.
Bleeding, clots and a tear in the bowel
The serious risks named in the label are worth knowing by name. Bleeding, including coughing up blood. Clots in arteries and in veins. A hole, or an abnormal channel, forming in the bowel. A rare brain condition called PRES, which brings headache, confusion, seizures or vision loss. Heart failure. Ovarian function can also stop, sometimes for good, which matters if you may want children later.
When to get help sooner
- Call 911 or go to an emergency department if you get severe belly pain with vomiting, pass black or bloody stools, cough up blood, or bleed heavily from anywhere. A hole in the bowel and serious bleeding are both named risks. Do the same for sudden weakness or drooping on one side, chest pain, sudden breathlessness, or a bad headache with confusion, seizures or loss of vision.
- Call your care team the same day if one calf becomes swollen, hot and painful, or a wound or surgical site opens up, weeps or stops healing. This drug slows healing because healing needs new blood vessels.
- Call your care team within a day or two if your home blood pressure readings climb above the range they gave you, or your urine turns frothy. Both are checked at nearly every visit, and neither needs to wait for the next one.
Sources
https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=939b5d1f-9fb2-4499-80ef-0607aa6b114e
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/drugs/bevacizumab
Words to know
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Common questions
What is Avastin?
Avastin (Bevacizumab) is a targeted therapy that blocks tumor blood-vessel growth. It blocks a signal (VEGF) that tumors use to grow new blood vessels, which can slow a tumor's blood supply and its growth. It is used to help treat colorectal cancer and some lung, kidney, and other cancers.
How is Avastin given?
It is usually given as an IV infusion, usually with chemotherapy. It is given as an intravenous (IV) infusion — a slow drip into a vein — at a clinic or hospital, usually repeated on a schedule of cycles with rest periods in between. The exact schedule is set by your care team.
What are the common side effects of Avastin?
Commonly reported side effects include high blood pressure, tiredness, nosebleeds, headache, and protein in the urine. Not everyone gets them, and many can be managed. Tell your care team about anything new or worsening.
Does Avastin cure cancer?
That depends on the person, the cancer type, and its stage. For some people a medicine like this can control cancer for a long time or be part of a curative plan; for others the goal is to slow the cancer or ease symptoms. Your care team can explain the goal in your situation.
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Sources last checked: 2026-07-14 what this meansLast updated: 2026-08-11Next planned review: 2027-01-14
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How this page was created
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes. We do not employ clinicians and do not intend to — our work is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Editorial review complete — This page completed Cancer Explained's editorial checks (sources, safety, plain language, duplication). It has not been reviewed by a physician or other healthcare professional.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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