U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Inlyta (axitinib) for the treatment of patients with advanced kidney cancer ( renal cell carcinoma ) and those who did not respond to another drug for this type of cancer. Renal cell carcinoma is a type of kidney cancer that starts in the lining of very small tubes in the kidneys. Inlyta works by blocking certain proteins called kinases that play a role in tumor growth and cancer progression . Inlyta is a pill that patients take twice a day.