Bowel cancer patients might not get an access to a potential life-extension drug, the health watchdog has claimed.

Bevacizumab (Avastin) might aid patients with increased bowel cancer which grows into other organs such as the liver and lungs.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) stated: `We have considered the drug, including a risk-sharing scheme from the manufacturer Roche, but still believes that the price is too high for the potential benefit.'

Avastin might not be the cure for people who have a remaining life of six weeks but when gets boosted when supplied with chemotherapy drugs such as capecitabine and oxaliplatin.

Studies have shown that patients typically live 21.3 months compared with 19.9 months with chemotherapy alone. Previous data also hints the fact that the trio of drugs might aid 78% of patients see their liver tumors shrink to an extent of potentially life-saving surgery.

Avastin is priced nearly at £21,000 per patient and an estimated 6,500 people in the UK could have been eligible to try the drug. Despite Nice's statement, patients can still be able to access the drugs via the Government's new cancer drugs fund.

More than £50 million is supplied as the funding and an extra £200 million will be available from April. It is left out to the local doctors and cancer specialists decision which patients will be benefitted mostly from the cash.

Ian Beaumont, campaigns director at Bowel Cancer UK, said: "We are naturally disappointed that Nice has confirmed that it is not approving bevacizumab for use on the NHS, especially when there is so much evidence of the treatment's efficacy. We hope, however, that the introduction of the interim drugs fund last month and the planned introduction of a full cancer drugs fund from April next year will enable patients and their clinicians to gain greater access to effective treatments like bevacizumab on the NHS."