BRIEF—Pfizer successfully widens label for Sutent in the USA

New York’s Pfizer has successfully widened the marketable use of oncology drug Sutent (sunitinib malate) to include certain post-surgical renal cell carcinoma patients.

The tyrosine kinase inhibitor was approved in 2006 against kidney cancer and gastrointestinal stromal cancer, and it is also approved for some pancreatic cancer patients.

The approval was based on results from the S-TRAC trial that showed median disease-free survival of 6.8 years for the test group compared with 5.6 years for the placebo arm.

“Today’s approval marks an important step forward for the treatment of adult patients who are at high risk of their renal cell carcinoma returning after surgery,” said Liz Barrett, global president and general manager, Pfizer Oncology.