FDA approves Eisai's drug Halaven for type of soft tissue cancer

FILE - In this Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015 file photo, a nurse places a patient's chemotherapy medication on an intravenous stand at a hospital in Philadelphia. A report released on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016 says cancer is the second leading cause of death nationally, after heart disease. Cancer death rates have been falling for nearly 25 years, but heart disease death rates have been falling at a steeper rate. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) (AP)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Eisai Co Ltd's drug derived from sea sponge for a rare type of soft tissue cancer which has no approved treatment so far.

The drug, Halaven, was approved for use in patients who have undergone chemotherapy with drugs derived from a type of bacteria, the FDA said on Thursday.

Halaven, derived from a marine sponge called Halichondria okadai, was approved in 2010 for treating advanced breast cancer.

Liposarcoma affects fat cells in soft tissues such as muscles, tendons, blood vessels, lymph vessels and nerves, and the tumor cannot be removed through surgery.

In a late-stage study, patients receiving Halaven had survival rate of 15.6 months compared with 8.4 months for those given chemotherapy drug, dacarbazine.