In a second study, a once-a-day pill called Tykerb halted tumor growth in about one-third of patients.
People with advanced liver cancer have very few options, says Andrew X. Zhu, MD, PhD, director of liver cancer research at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center in Boston.
Nexavar is the only medication that's been shown to extend their lives, he says. It was approved by the FDA in November after a large study showed people with advanced livercancer given Nexavar lived about three months longer than those given a placebo: 10.7 months vs. 7.9 months.
Enter Sutent, which puts the brakes on the growth of tumor-feeding blood vessels and deprives tumor cells of blood and nutrients needed for growth.