New Cancer Drug Approvals From 2016

Chemotherapy is one of the most powerful tools we have to treat cancer, and research continues to find new chemotherapy drugs as well as new uses for existing ones. At the same time, newer types of drugs are continually being developed that work in different ways to attack cancer cells.They include targeted therapy, which aims to more precisely identify cancer cells while doing less damage to normal cells, and immunotherapy, which uses the body’s own immune system to help find and destroy cancer.Before any new drug can be sold in the United States, it has to go through an approval process by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA evaluates evidence from testing to decide whether the drug’s benefits outweigh any known risks. The FDA also provides doctors and patients with information about how to use the new drug safely.In 2016, the FDA approved several new drug treatments for different cancer types that American Cancer Society editors believe will make a significant difference.Bladder CancerTecentriq (atezolizumab) is the first new drug approved in 3 decades for advanced bladder cancer. It’s part of a new class of immunotherapy drugs called checkpoint inhibitors.Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)The targeted therapy Venclexta (venetoclax) is for people with CLL whose leukemia cells have a chromosome abnormality called 17p deletion and who have had at least one treatment already.Head and Neck CancerKeytruda (pembrolizumab) was the first immunotherapy...
Source: American Cancer Society :: News and Features - Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Advanced Cancer Source Type: news