02 Jan Drug approved to help young patients battle a rare cancer

By Cara Murez, HealthDay

Children and adults with a rare type of soft tissue cancer will now have a new treatment option that could have a big impact.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the immunotherapy drug atezolizumab (Tecentriq) for use in patients with advanced alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) that has spread to other parts of the body or cannot be removed by surgery.

“This approval will make a huge impact in terms of a rare disease that has been particularly challenging to treat,” said Dr. Alice Chen, of the Developmental Therapeutics Clinic in the U.S. National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD).

This cancer begins in the soft tissue that connects and surrounds the organs and other tissues. It spreads slowly, but is typically deadly once it spreads. Chemotherapy doesn’t work against it and new targeted treatments, including drugs called tyrosine kinase inhibitors, do not have lasting effectiveness. Read more …