Health Highlights: Aug. 3, 2009

Aug. 4 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Clarcon Skin Products Pose Health Threat: FDA

Consumers shouldn't use any skin sanitizers or skin protectants made by Clarcon Biological Chemistry Laboratory because they contain harmful bacteria, warns the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The agency said some of the bacteria in the products can cause opportunistic infections of the skin and underlying tissues that may need medical or surgical treatment and may cause permanent damage, the Associated Press reported.

No cases of infection have been reported. Consumers with the products should dispose of them in household garbage. More than 800,000 bottles of the products, marketed under several different brand names, were distributed in various regions of the United States since 2007.

U.S. Marshals Service officers seized all skin sanitizer and skin protectant products, including ingredients, at Clarcon's facility in Roy, Utah, the Associated Press reported. The seizure took place after Clarcon didn't comply with an FDA order to promptly destroy the products.

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FDA Approves Avastin for Most Common Kidney Cancer

The drug Avastin has been approved in the United States for treating patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, the most common form of kidney cancer.

The Food and Drug Administration approved Avastin to be used in combination with the drug interferon-alpha, Agence France Presse reported.

A study found that patients treated with a combination of the drugs lived nearly twice as long without disease progression compared to patients treated with only interferon-alpha.

Since the end of 2007, Avastin has been available in Europe as a first-line treatment for advanced kidney cancer, AFP reported. Last week, European officials approved the drug for treatment of breast cancer.