This is a drug that extends life and the clinical trials stated there were around 3 additional months of life versus non treatment.
The drug is also very toxic to the liver and can cause death, but when the cancer is advanced at this stage I wonder if the toxic nature to the liver is worth it? BD
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Votrient (pazopanib) to treat patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma who have previously received chemotherapy.
Soft tissue sarcoma is a cancer that begins in the muscle, fat, fibrous tissue, and other tissues.
Votrient is a pill that works by interfering with angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels needed for solid tumors to grow and survive.
A rare cancer with many subtypes, soft tissue sarcoma occurs in about 10,000 cases annually in the United States. More than 20 subtypes of sarcoma were included in the clinical trial leading to approval of Votrient. The drug is not approved for patients with adipocytic soft tissue sarcoma and gastrointestinal stromal tumors.
The most common side effects in Votrient-treated patients were fatigue, diarrhea, nausea, weight loss, high blood pressure, decreased appetite, vomiting, tumor and muscle pain, hair color changes, headache, a distorted sense of taste, shortness of breath, and skin discoloration.
Votrient carries a boxed warning alerting patients and health care professionals to the potential risk of liver damage (hepatotoxicity), which can be fatal. Patients should be monitored for liver function and treatment should be discontinued if liver function declines.
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm302065.htm
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