On April 29, 2011, the drug was approved for the treatment of advanced metastatic colorectal cancer.

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Six months of treatment with toxic interleukin-2, one of the only treatments for advanced kidney cancer, had eroded nerves in her hands and feet, caused frequent vomiting and made her skin peel all over--but did nothing to slow the tumors' relentless growth.

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Hampshire PCT said the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) currently recommends that Sunitinib is not used for the treatment of advanced and metastatic renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer).

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Separately, Pfizer said that the Food and Drug Administration has approved Xalkori capsules, which the company calls the first-ever drug targeting anaplastic lymphoma kinase, or ALK, for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer that is ALK-positive.

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Only 4% of advanced colon cancer patients now get the drug for initial treatment, and only 14% get the drug as their second treatment, he says.

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