FDA approves 1st treatment for liver cancer in decade
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Thursday expanded the approved use of Stivarga (regorafinib) for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer. This is the first FDA-approved treatment for a liver cancer in almost 10 years. The FDA granted the approval of Stivarga to Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. According to the National Cancer Institute, about 40,710 people will be diagnosed with liver cancers in 2017, and approximately 28,920 will die of these diseases. HCC is the most common form of liver cancer. “Limited treatment options are available for patients with liver cancer,” said Richard Pazdur, M.D., an acting director at the FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence. “This is the first time patients with HCC have had an FDA-approved treatment that can be used if their cancer has stopped responding to initial treatment with sorafenib.” Stivarga is a kinase inhibitor that is effective by blocking several enzymes, including the vascul...