BEIJING, Dec. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- A U.S. advisory panel Wednesday decided by a vote of 5-4 that Avastin, the cancer drug of Genentech, couldn’t win an approval as a treatment for breast cancer.

    Avastin has been authorized to treat breast cancer in Europe and got the U.S. approval as a treatment for colorectal and lung cancers. Some doctors on their own already used Avastin to treat breast cancer in the United States.

    Data from an Avastin study released before the vote showed that Avastin achieved its main goal of extending the period before cancer worsens but failed to extent the overall survival, the golden standard to get an approval for can treatment.

    The FDA does not have to follow the panel's advice but usually does. A final decision is expected by Feb. 23.

    Shares of Genentech fell nearly 10 percent to a two-and-a-half-year low before being halted after the panel's recommendation.

    (Agencies)