The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today expanded the approved use of Cyramza (ramucirumab) to treat patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The most common type of lung cancer, NSCLC occurs when cancer cells form in the tissues of the lung. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 224,210 Americans will be diagnosed and 159,260 will die from lung cancer in 2014.

Cyramza works by blocking the blood supply that fuels tumor growth. The drug is intended for patients whose tumor has grown (progressed) during or following treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy, and it is to be used in combination with docetaxel, another type of chemotherapy.

“Today’s approval is the third indication that Cyramza has received in 2014,” said Richard Pazdur, M.D., director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “The commitment to study Cyramza in a variety of malignancies provides important treatment options to patients.”

For more details, go to: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm426720.htm?source=govdelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery