The world's top anti-cancer pharmaceutical company, Roche Holding AG, posted the biggest gains Zurich trading since February after new studies on its tumor drug Avastin proved it would be able to hold its own against rival Erbitux.

Roche rose 4.5 percent to $180.0575, its biggest gain since Feb. 25

Researchers report that using cancer drug Avastin has helped to stop the spread of rectal cancer in 22-24 patients.

Prior to their surgery to remove their rectal tumors, the patients were given Avastin and chemotherapy. After three years, they were still alive and around 91 per cent shows no signs of spreading the disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the Genentech drug Avastin for women with advanced breast cancer. By doing so, the FDA went against the recommendation of its advisory panel that judged the effectiveness of Avastin.

Avastin is already approved for treating lung and colon cancer, based on findings that it slowed tumor growth but does not help in patient survival. The ruling prompted a mixed reaction from both doctors and advocates for breast-cancer patients

Genentech's anti-cancer drug Avastin (bevacizumab), when combined with standard chemotherapy, was proven to slow the progression of breast cancer in a new clinical trial conducted by Roche.

The study includes patients with metastatic breast cancer who never underwent prior treatment. Results revealed that patients who received Avastin in combination with chemotherapy had a longer time period before their cancer progressed as compared to patients who simply had chemotherapy

The maker of Avastin has updated the colon cancer drug's label to include warnings about rare cases of brain capillary leak syndrome and nasal septum perforation.

Nasal septum perforation is when the cartilage of the nasal septum develops holes. Capillaries are small blood vessels.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Avastin for the treatment of colon or rectal cancer that has spread to other parts of the body