Researchers discovered that patients with advanced lung cancer or advanced breast cancer who took Genentech Inc.'s cancer drug Avastin in combination with chemotherapy took longer to relapse than patients who took chemotherapy alone.

The data from two late-stage trials was released at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Orlando, Florida

Researchers are hopeful a treatment for breast cancer will help some women live longer. Swiss drug manufacturer Roche Holding AG and biotech firm Genentech say clinical trial data indicates Avastin improves rates of survival for some cancer patients. The trial tested 722-people comparing results from patients who had cancer that had spread to other parts of the body using Avastin combined with chemotherapy to those patients who just underwent chemotherapy . Officials say they expect to convey the data to the Food and Drug Administration and hope to have Avastin approved for treatment. The drug is already approved for use in treatment of colorectal cancer that has spread. Avastin is an antibody designed to block a growth factor in the body that allows blood vessels to grow and maintain tumors