Veterans Alert: VA halts Avastin use for eye disease due to increased risk of infection

Reuters.com is reporting that the Department of Veterans Affairs has stopped using Avastin for eye disease Read the full article here. Avastin is a drug used to treat cancer.  However, some doctors - including the VA - have been using it "off-label" to treat macular degeneration.  Macular degeneration is an age related condition that is a  leading cause of blindness in the elderly.   While not entirely clear, the off-label use of Avastin appears to be motivated by cost: it is a fraction of the cost of Lucentis, the drug approved for treatment of macular degeneration.