Sorafenib is used to treat advanced renal cell carcinoma (a type of cancer that begins in the kidneys). Sorafenib is also used to treat unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (a type of liver cancer that cannot be treated with surgery). It works by slowing the spread of cancer cells.

Nexavar is a type of anticancer drug called a kinase inhibitor. It interferes with molecules that are thought to be involved in chemical messages sent within cancer cells, in the formation of blood vessels that supply tumors, and in cell death.

FDA's approval of Nexavar was based on the results of an international randomized placebo-controlled trial in patients with inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma. The study was designed to compare the survival of a group of patients who received the drug against a group of similar patients who did not.

A total of 602 patients were studied. Each patient received Nexavar or a placebo. Both groups were comparable with regard to age, gender, race, the stage and other characteristics of their cancer, and the types of cancer treatment they had received before entering the clinical trial.