UPDATE 1-EU backs broader label for Avastin in breast cancer

* EU approves Avastin with docetaxel as first-line treatment

* Move gives physicians more Avastin-based treatment options

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ZURICH, July 29 (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX) said on Wednesday the European Commission had approved the broader use of Avastin in the first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer.

The broader label approval of the cancer drug will allow physicians to treat breast cancer in combination with docetaxel as well as with paclitaxel chemotherapy.

Avastin was already approved in Europe for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced breast cancer in combination with paclitaxel in March 2007, Roche said.

Breast cancer is still the leading cause of cancer death in women under the age of 55 and more than one million women are diagnosed each year, leading to more than 500,000 deaths from breast cancer worldwide. (Reporting by Katie Reid; Editing by Hans Peters)