Abraxis BioScience, Inc. announced Monday that it has received approval from the China State Food and Drug Administration to market its Abraxane cancer drug for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer under certain conditions.

China is a huge market for the small Los Angeles-based biotech. From 2000 to 2005, the incidence of breast cancer in China increased 25 percent to 25 out of every 100,000 women. There are approximately 400,000 women with breast cancer in China, with approximately 168,000 new cases of breast cancer reported there each year.

As in the United States, Abraxane is not yet approved in China as a first-line therapy for breast cancer. It can be used after failure of standard chemotherapy for metastatic disease or relapse within six months of chemotherapy. The company is conducting head-to-head trials with a competing drug to show it deserves front-line status.

Abraxis shares closed up $3.54, or $5.6 percent, to $66.37 on the Nasdaq.