Avastin, Cancer Drug, Can Cause Kidney Damage - ABC News + patient response/ovarian cancer (proteinuria)

"........The manifestation of proteinuria, even significant proteinuria with therapy, was seen in those pilot studies," said Dr. Bryan Becker, president of the National Kidney Foundation, who is not affiliated with the group that carried out the current study.

However, some doctors said the incidence of proteinuria with the treatment is not a cause for alarm.

"The 2 to 3 percent that have proteinuria is minor," said Dr. Otis Brawley, the American Cancer Society's chief medical and scientific officer, who likewise had no involvement with this research.

It also doesn't concern 46-year-old Julie Del Giorno, a Pennsylvania woman who took Avastin to treat her ovarian cancer as part of a clinical trial last year.

Luckily, she now has no signs of cancer left.

"I'm doing really well. Everything's been fine -- my CT scans have been normal," she said.

After reading about the side effects of Avastin and consulting with her doctor, she decided to give it a try.

"There are always risks involved, and I had trust in the doctors I was working with that it was a good option," she said"....cont'd