Everolimus (Afinitor?, Novartis AG, Basel, Switzerland) has recently been licensed in the United Kingdom for the treatment of advanced kidney cancer after failure of treatments which prevent the growth of the tumor?s blood vessels. The growth of the blood vessels are essential for the cancer to survive. The European Commission (EC) approved everolimus for this use on 3rd August 2009 for patients with advanced kidney cancer whose disease progressed on or after treatment with VEGF-targeted therapy.Everolimus belongs to a class of drugs called kinase inhibitors, which interfere with cell communication, preventing tumor growth. The drug is intended for those patients with advanced renal cell cancer who have already tried another kinase inhibitor, sunitinib (Sutent, Pfizer Inc., New York, USA) or sorafenib (Nexavar, Bayer HealthCare AG, Leverkusen, Germany).Read the full length article at Oncozine – The International cancer Blog.
