Approved Liver Cancer Treatment Under Performs

Liver cancer drug Nexavar did not live up to expectations during clinical trials, according to its producer, the German drug company Bayer.

Nexavar, or sorafenib, was developed by Bayer and Onyx Pharmaceuticals as a cancer treatment option to be taken as an addition to current treatments for advanced kidney and liver cancers. It had been the drug companies' hope that Nexavar would serve to help boost survival rates in patients post liver cancer surgery, where the drug would help regulate a patient's body and prevent cancer cells from resurfacing in individuals who had all signs of the disease surgically removed.

Unfortunately, Bayer reports that sorafenib testing, even at varying dosages taken orally, appeared to have little-to-no effect on a patient's post-operation survival rate. Worse, the drug did not meet its main goal for its stage-three trails, which was to increase the likelihood of a cancer recurrence-free survival in liver cancer patients.

While disappointing, Bayer representatives say this does not discourage the company from using the drug sorafenib, as it has already proven to be of help treating kidney and liver cancers that cannot be surgically removed.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, Nexavar and other sorafenib-based drugs have already been approved to treat specific stages of kidney and liver cancer that are inoperable.

According to the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health, 2013 alone saw more than 30,000 new cases of liver cancer. That same year, more than 20,000 liver cancer patients died, Most of these deaths can be attributed to inoperable liver cancer or post-operation recurrence of the cancer.

A Bayer representative stated that the company will continue investigating applications of sorafenib to treat kidney and liver cancer. Data from the stage-three trials is scheduled to be submitted for presentation at an upcoming scientific congress.