FDA Approves New Drug to Fight Kidney Cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new drug for the treatment of kidney cancer this week.

The drug, Votrient, is an oral medication that interferes with the growth of new blood vessels that are needed for solid tumor growth and survival. It is made by London drug maker GlaxoSmithKline.

Votrient is intended for people with advanced renal cell carcinoma. The disease affects the lining of very small tubes in the kidney. In 2009, 49,000 people were diagnoses with the disease and 11,000 people died, according to an FDA statement.

Votrient is the fifth drug approved to treat kidney cancer since 2005.

The other drugs are: Sorafenib (approved in December 2005), Sunitinib (approved in January 2006), Temsirolimus (approved in May 2007), Everolimus (approved in March 2009) and Bevacizumab (approved in July 2009).

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