FDA Approves Drug That Helps Fight Rare Cancer In Young Children
By Lynne Adkins
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - In a rare move, the FDA has approved a drug to battle neuroblastoma -- a cancer that most often occurs in younger children.
Unituxin can now be used to battle the a rare form of cancer that forms from immature nerve cells. Dr. John Maris, professor of pediatric oncology at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, says until now, doctors battled the cancer with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy and this gives them a major addition to the arsenal:
"Unituxin is a new therapy that tricks the body into recognizing the cancer has foreign and attacks it with the tools of the child's own immune system."
Dr. Maris calls Unituxin a "game changer:"
"We celebrate anytime something gets approved because that means the Food and Drug Administration recognizes that this has made a major impact in saving lives."
Dr. Maris has been involved in the research of this drug for years, and says its approval is exciting because the FDA rarely approves medications to battle pediatric cancer.
