FDA Approves Melanoma Drug - East Idaho News

FDA Approves Melanoma Drug

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Thinkstock 122214 Medicines?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1419306120931Ingram Publishing/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday granted accelerated approval for a new treatment for patients with melanoma that is either advanced or non-operable.

According to an FDA press release, melanoma is the fifth-most common form of cancer in the U.S. The National Cancer Institute estimates that melanoma, which forms in the skin’s pigment, will kill 9,710 Americans this year, and 76,100 will be diagnosed with the disease.

Opdivo is the seventh melanoma drug approved by the FDA in the last three years.

The new drug works by inhibiting a protein on cancer cells that blocks the immune system from attacking the tumors. The FDA says the safety of Opdivo was tested among 268 participants in a trial study. The most common side effects were rash, itching, cough, upper respiratory tract infection and fluid retention.


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