Novartis drug Odomzo has received go-ahead signal from the US Food and Drug Administration. The drug will treat advanced basal cell carcinoma skin cancer that has returned after surgery or radiation therapy.

Basal cell carcinoma is the abnormal, uncontrolled growth that happens in the skin's basal cells present in the deepest layer of the epidermis. This type of cancer is responsible for over 80% of non-melanoma skin cancers.

The drug is an oral, selective smoothened inhibitor, which handles hedgehog signalling pathway. It is said that the FDA has approved the drug after seeing the results of the clinical trials. In the trials it was noticed that 58% of those given the drug have witnessed partial shrinkage or complete disappearance of tumor.

The effect of the drug continued for at least 1.9 to 18.6 months. It shall however, be noted that the drug does not come without side effects. The drug carries a boxed warning as per which death or severe birth defects could happen to a developing fetus. Therefore, pregnant women should not take the drug.

Other side effects suffered by patients who had taken the drugs include muscle spasms, alopecia, dysgeusia, fatigue, nausea, musculoskeletal pain, diarrhea, decreased weight, abdominal pain, headache, pain, vomiting, decreased appetite, myalgia and pruritus.

It is the second hedgehog pathway inhibitor permitted by the FDA for basal cell carcinoma in recent years. It is important to have such drugs as a rise has been witnessed in the number of non-melanoma skin cancer cases.?