Wearing pink shirts and waving signs, demonstrators rallied outside the FDA in Silver Spring on Tuesday morning. They were there to urge the agency to keep the drug Avastin on the market.
Supporters say Avastin is prolonging the lives of late stage breast cancer patients. The Food and Drug Administration says the drug is ineffective and comes with potentially deadly side affects.
Both sides with square off during a two day hearing, which will determine the fate of the controversial cancer treatment.
The FDA fast tracked the drug in 2008, but after longer term study, regulators withdrew approval, saying Avastin posed more risks than benefits for patients.
Since that decision, cancer patients and doctors have pressured regulators to reconsider and allow current patients to continue taking the drug while more studies are done.
