New Drug Battles Liver Cancer

An impressive clinical trial has produced what could be the first effective drug treatment for liver cancer, the New York Times reports. Nexavar, which blocks both the blood supply to the tumor and proteins that spur tumor growth, extended the lives of patients in the trial by almost three months, or 44%

"We did not have anything for these patients," said one of the principal investigators  in the trial. "Now we have an effective drug that prolongs survival." The drug, also known as sorafenib, is already approved to treat kidney cancer, so it can be prescribed "off label" to liver patients. Liver cancer is one of the most common, and deadliest, forms of the disease.
(More Nexavar stories.)